


A Window to Your Souls

by CrossBladeWing



Series: House of Hearts [1]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Fluff and Angst, Multi, Music, Parkour, Reader is Actually Human this time, Reader is musically talented, adding tags as i go and will delete them if they're no longer relevant, not that much angst
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-18
Updated: 2017-02-22
Packaged: 2018-05-27 10:36:45
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 22,489
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6281284
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CrossBladeWing/pseuds/CrossBladeWing
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>You loved music. It was your comfort, your hobby, your past-time--your music helped you through everything.</p>
<p>You didn't think it would lead you to meeting one very special child and their monster family.</p>
<p>I DON'T OWN THE SONGS</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. 7 years

**Author's Note:**

> I HAVE A PROBLEM my brain needs to stop spewing out ideas!! or whoever is in my head, riding my train of thought...I DON"T NEED ANOTHER FIC BUT **** if I don't post this i will SCREAM. (i can edit it later)
> 
> so here it is.
> 
> It was supposed to be a one-shot, but apprarently i can't write one-shots despite the fact i said i could. (i wrote it down somewhere IDK)
> 
> Happy St. Patrick's DAY btw guys.

You played the piano in front of the antique shop in the middle of the plaza.

You always played there, everyday since the shop opened. It was run by and old kindly turtle monster named Gerson.

Monsters had been Aboveground for nearly a year and you, among others, were one of the first humans to ever come visit their little town by the base of Mt. Ebbot.

You saw the shop--all painted and with wind chimes, glass figurines, tools, and vases and plants and old instruments lying around and instantly went inside. It was full of old antiques, which some looked well cared for, especially the old piano at the front of the shop. It had glossy black paint and it looked like it was engraved with some sort of gold patterns, the keys were a nice ivory and the sound...

The moment you touched a key you were in love.

That’s when you met Gerson.

He found you half-way playing through a song on the piano. You were so wrapped up in it you didn’t notice him, but once you turned your head to play at the higher keys you saw him and abruptly jumped, nearly knocking your sunglasses from your face.

He was smiling at you in that warm “old-man” kind of way, but you were horrified still. You apologized profusely, scrambling to get off the bench, but he only chuckled.

“Woah there! Calm down, human. It’s fine I don’t mind.” He said in an old creaky voice.

You rose your eyebrows and blinked stupidly at him, even if he couldn’t see it.

“Wahahaha! Don’t worry. It’s a slow day in the shop anyway. Why don’t you play us some more music, hmmm?”

You opened and closed your mouth like a fish, unsure of what to say.

His eyes crinkled even more in a smile. “Come now, make an old monster happy.” He pulled up one of the old chairs and sat down by you.

You, still in your shock, turned away from him and focused on your hands on the keys. You started from where you left off in the song. You started off nervous again with having an audience but you were quickly absorbed into the music. You relaxed and began playing like before.

When the end of the song came and you took a moment to breathe you felt a gentle, clawed hand on your shoulder.

You turned around and the old turtle monster was there, still smiling crinkly at you.

“You have quite a gift for music. I know only one other person who can play, but she...usually smashes the keys.”

You relaxed and gave him a smile and your name, holding out a hand. He took your hand in one of his. “My name is Gerson. Welcome to my shop.”

You’d been at the shop everyday ever since.

You noticed that Gerson didn’t ask you a lot of questions, not about the glasses you always wore, not about why you came to the shop(he probably guessed that by now)--He only ever asked you once about family or friends to which you stayed silent and he just gave you an understanding smile and a pat on the shoulder.--He asked you about what you could play besides the piano and you listed off that you could play the guitar, xylophone, trumpet, trombone...He cut you off eventually saying, “Wahahaha! - - - - -, you love music don’t you?” To which you nodded--He also only ever asked once if you’d like to take the piano and you firmly shook your head, when he asked why you said, “Nowhere to put it.” And he left it at that.

Nowadays, he only gave you a smile and a “Welcome back, - - - - -.” When you came to the shop and you’d give him a greeting and a smile and went to that same piano to play a song during his work day.

Today was the same only this time...someone else was waiting for you.

When you opened the shop door, Gerson wasn’t at his usual place behind the register and glass-case counter. It was silent in the shop for once. Was it closed?

You were about to leave when you finally noticed someone sitting where you usually sat.

A young child of about 7-8 sat on the piano bench, kicking their feet a bright sweet smile on their face as they looked at you. You recognized this child. They were the child ambassador for the underground. But if they were here...

[Hi my name is Frisk] They signed. You didn’t know a lot of sign language, but you understood simple phrases.

[Hello Frisk. My name is - - - - -.] You signed back.

Their face brightened considerably and they started rapidly signing at you. You couldn’t keep up.

[Sorry. Slow down. I don’t know a lot of signs.] You said to them.

Frisk looked troubled for a moment. [Sorry.]

They smiled understandingly at you. [You don’t have to sign. You can talk.] This child seemed more mature to you than most.

“Sorry, Frisk.” You say. They shake their head.

“Where’s...your family?” You asked somewhat awkwardly. 

You remember from watching the news that the kid ambassador was living with Asgore and Toriel Dreemur, the former King and Queen of the Underground and tall white-furred goat monsters, Sans and Papyrus, the skeleton brothers, and Undyne, the former Head of the Royal Guard and also a fish monster, and Alphys, a small yellow dinosaur monster and former Royal Scientist.

[I snuck out!] They say triumphantly. 

Uh oh.

“Frisk, your family must be worried sick. Why don’t I drop you home?” You ask somewhat panicked. You start freaking out in your head. Were you going to be put in jail by their family thinking you’d kidnapped them? Would they kill you? You’re sure Undyne could, at least or maybe Papyrus--

Frisk shakes their head vigorously. [I came here to see you.]

That grinds your thought process to a halt.

“Me?” You asked confused, pointing at yourself and looking at the child in disbelief, though they probably can’t discern your expression with your glasses on.

They nod. 

“Why?” You ask still somewhat panicked, holding out your hands.

They point at the piano. What did the piano have to do with anyth--Oh. OOOOHHHH.

“Because I play this piano?” You guess. They nod, beaming at you.

“Did Gerson say something about me? Where is he anyway?” You ask, trying to change the subject.

They just smile at your first question, which was a confirmation that he did in your mind and then they shrug.

“So the shop’s been empty since you got in here?” You ask.

They nod.

That made you very uneasy.

“Well don’t you have a phone or something you can call your family with?” You try to redirect the conversation back to them. They shake their head.

You look exasperatedly at them, as they hop off the bench and walk up to you and take your hand and tug you to the piano.

[Play me something?] They asked. You gared at them, not that they could see it.

The give you a begging look with puppy eyes. 

Goddamn they shouldn’t look that cute! It should be illegal!!! Your concerns and fear fly out the window with their pout.

You sigh.

If they were so determined, you’d oblige, but---

“I’ll play you something if you promise that after ONE song you’ll let me call your mother to take you home or I’ll take you home myself.” You sternly said this while poking them in the nose.

Frisk squeals and jumps up to hug you around your waist.

You smile and ruffle their hair. You’re sure you’re going to regret this, but you don’t really care as of now. They’d be the first person, other than Gerson, to hear you play...in a long time.

Then you sit down on the bench and Frisk sits beside you as you go through finger and wrist exercises.

You think of what to play as you look at them sideways, thanks to your glasses they don’t notice. They’re watching your hands and fingers. They’re as young as you thought. A child with a brown bob haircut, golden skin, slit-eyes, and cute little smile. They’re wearing a blue and purple-striped sweater and blue pants and brown shoes. They look to be about 7 or 8 years old--A song pops up into your head.

“I got the perfect one for you, so sit tight ok?” You say and Frisk all but crawls into your lap and sits there.

Well...you weren’t expecting that, but you could probably play this song around them.

You take a deep breath and start playing the beginning chords.

Then you started singing.

_“Once I was seven years old my momma told me_  
_Go make yourself some friends or you'll be lonely._  
_Once I was seven years old.”_

_“It was a big big world, but we thought we were bigger_  
_Pushing each other to the limits, we were learning quicker_  
_By eleven smoking herb and drinking burning liquor_  
_Never rich so we were out to make that steady figure”_

_“Once I was eleven years old my daddy told me_  
_Go get yourself a wife or you'll be lonely_  
_Once I was eleven years old”_

_“I always had that dream like my daddy before me_  
_So I started writing songs, I started writing stories_  
_Something about that glory, just always seemed to bore me_  
_Cause only those I really love will ever really know me”_

_“Once I was 20 years old, my story got told_  
_Before the morning sun, when life was lonely_  
_Once I was 20 years old”_

_“I only see my goals, I don't believe in failure_  
_Cause I know the smallest voices, they can make it major_  
_I got my boys~ with me at least those in favor_  
_And if we don't meet before I leave, I hope I'll see you later”_

_“Once I was 20 years old, my story got told_  
_I was writing about everything, I saw before me_  
_Once I was 20 years old!”_

_“Soon we'll be 30 years old, our songs have been sold_  
_We've traveled around the world and we're still roaming_  
_Soon we'll be 30 years old”_

_“I'm still learning about life_  
_My woman brought children for me_  
_So I can sing them all my songs_  
_And I can tell them stories_  
_Most of my boys are with me_  
_Some are still out seeking glory_  
_And some I had to leave behind_  
_My brother I'm still sorry...!”_

_“Soon I'll be 60 years old, my daddy got 61_  
_Remember life and then your life becomes a better one_  
_I made a man so happy when I wrote a letter once_  
_I hope my children come and visit, once or twice a month” ___

_“Soon I'll be 60 years old, will I think the world is cold?_  
_Or will I have a lot of children who can warm me?_  
_Soon I'll be 60 years old!”_

_“Soon I'll be 60 years old, will I think the world is cold?_  
_Or will I have a lot of children who can hold me?_  
_Soon I'll be 60 years old”_

_“Once I was seven years old, my momma told me ___  
_Go make yourself some friends or you'll be lonely_  
_Once I was seven years old”_

_“Once I was seven years old...”_

Frisk was absolutely silent. You were worried that they didn’t like the song and then they all but turned and gave you the biggest brightest smile they could muster and hugged you around the neck, laughing and then all of a sudden they’re tense.

“Soo, I take it you liked it?” You ask hesitantly.

“it was ice.” A deep voice says from behind you, DIRECTLY behind you.

You freeze and your eyes widen (o_o) and for some reason you think you hear music. [*que Megalovania] 

And...

You think you shouldn’t turn around.


	2. A New Soul

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> meet the monster family!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Updating other fics before BTS xD (it's an important chapter i don't wanna screw it up nor cut it short!!!)
> 
> Enjoy this next installment of this story.

“turn around human. don’t you know how to greet a new pal?” ****. There’s a sharp chill down your spine. You take a quiet breath and turn only for you to see something glowing green and long shooting towards you.

You fling yourself backwards towards the skeleton reflexively and you’re surprised the skeleton disappears and you land on your shoulder, curled protectively around Frisk. The spear embeds itself in the wall and would’ve pierced you straight through if you hadn’t dodged.

You’re curled around Frisk, but they break from your hold and tell you to relax and calm down. Your heart beats hard in your ears and your mind is racing. Are you in shock?

“Nggaahhh!!! Let me GO Papyrus!” A woman’s voice says, clearly angry. Papyrus?

“PLEASE UNDYNE YOU CAN NOT HURT A HUMAN! ”a loud voice says. Undyne?

“U-undyne, C-calm d-down!” A quieter, timid voice asks. There were more?

You jerk up straight and Frisk hops from the bench to a very angry looking-fish woman who’s failing around trying to get the two bony arms from around her arms. Her golden eye, not concealed by her long red hair is glaring daggers at you: Undyne

A yellow dinosaur monster is trying to get her to calm down by her side. She’s wearing a white lab coat and glasses as far as you can tell: Alphys

And there’s a very tall skeleton behind her, holding her back with his arms. You can see he’s wearing red boots and a red scarf: Papyrus.

Well you actually saw this coming. Frisk is rapidly signing in front of Undyne and she stops struggling against Papyrus as she watches them.

Something cold and had grasps your shoulder.

“so buddy. mind explaining?” The deep threatening voice says from behind you. You turn and are face to skull with a short stout skeleton in a blue hoodie: Sans.

You gulp, his empty sockets bore into your glasses-covered eyes and his smile is tight and restrained.

“Sans, I’d appreciate it if you didn’t threaten - - - - -. I would like them to come back.” You turn towards the voice and Gerson appears from amongst the antiques with two tall goat monsters, trailing behind him: Asgore and Toriel. 

“Sans, Undyne, please do not threaten or throw spears at the human.” Toriel asks looking to Undyne and then Sans, a stern motherly expression on her face--wait “motherly”? Well...she was...you reasoned with yourself. 

Undyne frowned but relented, Papyrus letting go of her and Sans just lazyily slouched back and turned around to face Toriel.

“sure thing tori, but i might have a bone to pick with them.” He said. 

“Well as long as they haven’t rattled your bones, please refrain from scaring them.” She said.

Were they serious? Puns? Bone puns? You gave a slight loud snort and a smile and suddenly all eyes are on you. Frisk runs back over to you to help you up. Being helped up by the Ambassador of all Monsters, a child at that, and basically have them save you, was slightly embarrassing. You got to your feet slowly and dusted yourself off, trying not to look at any of them.

Someone clears their throat.

You look up at Asgore, he smiles at you kindly.

“Howdy!” He says, waving a hand at you..

Gerson steps in, “- - - - -, This is Asgore and Toriel. Sans. Alphys Papyrus and Undyne. And I believe you’ve met Frisk already.” You nod.

“I-it’s nice to meet all of you. I-I’m sorry about not contacting you sooner. I got a bit...carried away...” ” You said, somewhat nervously. You felt very small at the moment, surrounded by all these monsters, you think you’re not really...”enough” for them. You spare a glance down at what you’re wearing: loose cargo pants, sneakers, a grey hoodie-vest over a plaid shirt. Yeah maybe you should’ve dressed up more..There’s a tug at your pants and you look down and Frisk is smiling at you encouragingly.

“It’s nice to meet you too, - - - - -. And you don't need to worry about that dear. Frisk has always wanted to meet you. They're very...stubborn. I hope they haven't caused you too much trouble?" Toriel asks. Yup definitely motherly. You jerk your head towards her and then proceed to shake your head. "Oh no they were fine!" She laughs a little. "That's good. Gerson has told us a lot about you.” Toriel says, her voice sweet as sugar as she smiles at you. “Really?” Then you turn to Gerson. “Gerson, you’ve been talking about me?” You’re slightly appalled and embarrassed. You’re face feels both cold and warm.

Gerson holds his hands up in surrender. “Wahaha! Don’t worry, only good things, like the time you first came in here, or how you tripped on a rug on your way out the door, or how you help around the store sometimes...” He prattles on and you feel yourself blushing and you cover your face with a hand. 

“Please stop.” You beg. 

“Nuh-uh I wanna hear this!” Undyne says. You groan and she smiles sharply at you. Gerson obliges her with more stories of how you’d play music and sing songs. Alphys is studying you, adjusting her glasses as she looks at you. Sans was standing right next to her-- **when** did he get there?-- Sans sockets had gotten two little white pin-pricks back in them, which you guessed were his eyes, but he was also looking you over.

Their twin stares made you uneasy, especially when they shared a look.

“OH WAS THAT YOU WE HEARD ON OUR WAY HERE HUMAN?” Papyrus says, breaking you out of your thoughts and embarrassment. He walks up to you and slightly leaning over you. He was tall. You take a cautious step back and respond, “uh...Yes?” 

“WOWIE! AS YOU KNOW I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, AND YOU HAVE IMPRESSED ME WITH YOUR MUSIC!” He says and you cast a look at Undyne, who’s still listening to Gerson and she turns your way.

She about to say something, but Gerson interrupts her. “--Why don’t you play us something, - - - - - ?” He asks.

...Is he serious right now? You look at him and he’s still kindly smiling at you. In that old, “make an old turtle happy” kind of smile. You hate how much he’s used that on you.

“Come on punk! Let’s hear this!” Undyne threatens(?), encourages(?) with a sharp smile.

“OH YES PLEASE DO PLAY SOMETHING HUMAN!” Papyrus asks, grasping your hands. You look towards Alphys and Sans. “Please Don’t Be Worried About My Brother...He’s Just...” Papyrus trails off with a lower voice.

He’s trying to comfort you. Aw he’s a sweetheart. You pull one of your hands to pat his and give him a smile and he smiles back at you with a “Nyeh heh.” 

You feel stares at you and you look down at Frisk, giving you their “puppy face”. Goddammit. With Frisk doing that and Gerson smiling at you and --aw hell. The QUEEN is giving you a motherly smile! Geezus these monsters!

“I don’t have much choice, do I?” You ask, but you already know the answer. Gerson and Frisk and Papyrus AND Undyne shake their heads. 

“You don’t have to feel obligated to play us something if you don’t want to dear.” Toriel says, but you can see the slight disappointment in her eyes.

“Oh no, no! I’m sorry I’m just...nervous?” You say, trying to make it as though you WEREN”T a total screw-up. Why couldn’t you just say yes? Now they’re going to think you’re weird!

You could feel Undyne’s stare at your skull.

Asgore chuckles. “With what Gerson has told us, so far, you’ll be alright human, but Tori is right. You don’t have to if you don’t want to.”

Frisk and Papyrus are looking like kicked puppies. You figuratively melt. Way too precious and WAY too cute.

You feel Sans’s stare at your skull and Alphys’s nervous calculative looks at you.

You let out a breath and pull your hands from Papyrus’s and Frisk from your leg, where they’d latched onto when you were talking to Toriel.

They made a motion to grab at you, but you barely dodged away from them saying, “How am I supposed to play anything with you two clinging to me like Velcro?” You laugh.

They both squeal, _SQUEAL_ , with delight. Too much sugar. You were getting cavities, you could feel it.

You sit yourself on the piano bench. The store goes quiet and all you can see is the piano in front of you.

A song pops into your head and you begin with the starting chords. You give your audience a small smile before getting back to the keys and begin singing along:

 _“I'm a new soul_  
_I came to this strange world_  
_Hoping I could learn a bit 'bout how to give and take_  
_But since I came here, felt the joy and the fear_  
_Finding myself making every possible mistake”_

 _“La, la, la, laaa~, la._  
_La la la la laa~, la._  
_La la la la laa..._  
_La la la._  
_La la la.” (x2)_

 _“See I'm a young soul in this very strange world_  
_Hoping I could learn a bit 'bout what is true and fake_  
_But why all this hate? Try to communicate_  
_Finding trust and love is not always easy to make”_

 _“La, la, la, laaa~, la._  
_La la la la laa~, la._  
_La la la la laa..._  
_La la la._  
_La la la.” (x2)_

You play the solo and nervously look over at the monsters, Papyrus literally has stars in his sockets and Frisk is staring at you in awe. Undyne has a small crooked smile on her face and Alphys looks amazed. Toriel and Asgore’s smiles are a little broader and Gerson looks so...proud of you, like you were his grandchild...Sans--he’d moved to stand by Frisk and Papyrus sometime during your playing-- even seems surprised. You almost falter in your playing but push past it.

 _“...This is a happy end_  
_Cause you don't understand_  
_Everything you have done_  
_Why's everything so wrong?...”_

 _“This is a happy end_  
_Come and give me your hand_  
_I'll take you far...away...”_

You spare a glance at Frisk and they look like they’re about to cry...or laugh...you hope it’s the latter. Sans is still openly staring at you, but like his brother he has little stars in his sockets and Papyrus looks like he could burst with joy, he’s smiling so wide.

You sing the last bit softly:

 _“I'm a new soul_  
_I came to this strange world_  
_Hoping I could learn a bit 'bout how to give and take_  
_But since I came here, felt the joy and the fear_  
_Finding myself making every possible mistake”_

 _“La, la, la, laaa~, la_  
_La la la la laa~, la_  
_La la la la laa..._  
_La la la._  
_La la la.” (x4)_

“You ain’t so bad punk. But you step out of line and--” She summons a spear and throws it at you.

You dodge just enough for it to just graze your left cheek, but it catches your sunglasses and knocks them clear off your face. You close your eyes as you jerk to the side, falling off the bench.

“-I won’t miss next time.” She says and then you hear her say, “Ow!” As someone has most likely hit her. “Undyne!--” Several voices call and then proceed to scold her all at once. You don’t know what’s happening, your eyes are shut. You’re not really paying attention to what is being said either, as you feel around for your sunglasses.

You feel bony arms hoist you up though. “HUMAN, ARE YOU ALRIGHT?!” Papyrus. You cover your eyes with a hand, blinking them, but making sure they can’t see them. You can still see--that’s good. 

You feel small hands press something into your other hand. Your sunglasses, but there was something wrong with them. You jerked them up to your face. Damn the frame was broken...

You let out a frustrated sigh. Frisk tugs in your pants.

 _Are you ok?_ They ask. You nod, keeping your head down.

If they saw--Unpleasant memories spring to mind.

_Freak!...Weirdo!..Monster!...Huh, we could use eyes like yours..._

There’s a pat on your shoulder. You look through your hair at Gerson. “Are you alright, - - - - -?” He asks. You nod, but clutch your broken sunglasses tighter. Gerson notices.

“I might actually have a few of those around. Let me take a look for you.” He walks off deeper into the shop.

And you sit with your back to the piano on the bench. The monsters are still crowded around Undyne.

“--you can’t throw spears or threaten to throw them at every human we meet!” “--YOU SHOULD APOLOGIZE TO THE HUMAN--” “--we have to be careful Undyne. The human will use any reason to--” “NGGAHH FINE! But they won’t tell or they--- **“UNDYNE!”** “Ok ok Fine!--”

You hear footsteps come up closer to you and you see the scaly little yellow feet of Alphys. You look up at her through your hair.

“I-i’m s-sorry a-a-about U-undyne.” She says, nervously wringing her hands.

You shake your head. “It’s fine. I think--I think I can understand...” You say quietly, slowly tilting your head up more and turning you head to the side to look at her properly and give her a smile. She looks shocked and you then look back down.

There was a loud gasp. You looked up at Alphys to see if anything was wrong, but she was gaping at you and you stared back at her confused until you realized that you were fully looking at her.Your eyes widened and worst of all, the sunset was shining through the window, directly at you.

“O-oh m-my...” Alphys said, adjusting her glasses as she looked at you.You hear something crack.

Sans and Frisk suddenly appeared next to her. You jump up to a standing position in surprise.

“hey alphys what’s the...” He’s looking at you as well and so is Frisk.

In fact all of them are looking at you now. ****. Gerson comes back with a pair of sunglasses in his hand. Maybe he can save you!--

“- - - - -, you wouldn’t believe where I found these---”

He sees the situation that you’re in. “What’s wrong?” He asks, concerned. His smile slipping from his face and then he’s looking at you too, the sunglasses he’d found dropping from his claws.

\--Nope. Thanks Gerson. You’re doomed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What's wrong with Reader's eyes? 
> 
> leave me comments please! tell me what you think. :)


	3. Antigravity

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> your eyes are....

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait guys! This turned out longer than expected but oh well more for you!!
> 
> I GOT FANART: thank you RogueCheerio!!
> 
> http://theroguecheerio.deviantart.com/art/7-Years-599788249 
> 
> also thanks for the 80+ kudos and 750+ hits guys!

You’re just standing there. Why are you just standing there?! But your eyes flick from one monster’s face to the next, meeting wide green eyes, purple eyes, one gold eye, wide pale yellow, star sockets, and empty sockets and Frisk’s slit eyes. Frisk, Papyrus and even Sans actually shift-forward to almost lean toward you, or in Papyrus’s case loom over you.

“P-please stop staring...” You manage to say weakly, looking away from all of them, towards the floor to your side.

They all seem to snap out of it.

You feel bony hands against your face and tiny hands tugging your hand, which is starting to sting a little. You flinch away from them, stepping away and jerk your hand away to look down at it, you bite your lip as it begins to sting.

You start picking out the little piece of broken glass. They each fall to the floor with a “plink”, but there are smaller shards you can’t get out of your hand. You’re starting to bleed on the floor a little too.

You’re suddenly picked up with bony arms.

“Whhaa---” “HUMAN YOU ARE HURT! ARE YOU ALRIGHT?!Papyrus sets you back down on the piano bench. It seems that Gerson and Toriel and Asgore and Undyne are gone again, leaving you in the room with Papyrus and Frisk and Alphys and--seriously?! When did Sans move?!---He and Alphys are talking.

Frisk catches your attention, walking in a half circle around you, jittering and failing their hands in signs too fast for you to understand. You dig for tissues on your pocket to stop the blood.

When you meet their eyes, they’re looking at you with concern and a bit of awe, you flinch and focus on dabbing at the blood lightly in your hand.

A bony hand attached to a blue sleeve stops your hand. “hey kid, if ya keep doin’ that the shards will stay in your palm.” You jump, and stop, pulling the bloody tissues from your hand, moving his hand away from yours as well.

“what’s got your bones rattled kid?” You don’t answer. 

Papyrus groans and says, “BROTHER, WHY? THIS ISN’T TIME FOR JOKES!” 

“eye’m sorry bro, just thought some laughs could help our new pal here. they see-m down.”

You could almost hear a *ba dum tss* and Papyrus lets out a loud drawn out “NYEEEEEEEEEEH” 

Despite the terrible jokes, their antics do get a smile and a few quiet laughs from you.

Frisk takes your hand and keeps it open, palm up to look at the cuts, it’s starting to clot already, but you can still see visible little pieces of dark glass.

“HUMAN?” Papyrus calls from right next to you. You tilt your head to the side to indicate you were listening, smile falling from your face.

“ARE YOU ALRIGHT?” A slightly loaded question, but you nod.

“N-No I Meant About Your Eyes...” You take in a sharp breath, but Frisk clutches your fingers in their hands. You look up at them and they’re giving you a sincere little smile as they look between your eyes. 

Sans is still standing close and you feel the stares. It makes you uncomfortable.

You hear the padding of feet come closer. “U-um, human, n-no - - - - - was it?” Alphys. You nod.

“W-well i-if you’d l-let me, I-i’d like t-to take o-out the re-remaining s-shards?”

You look at her through your hanging hair and she’s nervously holding a pair of tweezers between her claws--where did she even get those?

(...Too many questions, not enough answers. You’re just going to leave the answer as “MAGIC” and resign yourself to the impossibilities clearly common to monsters, which defy the laws of science and the universe and you should really stop thinking so hard about this because it’s giving you a headache.)

You nod stiffly at her and she walks over, Sans is gone from your line of sight, and takes your injured hand from Frisk, who moves to your side still holding your other hand, and Papyrus is still waiting for you to respond, his head bent down and he’s fidgeting with his gloved hands, shifting foot-to-foot.

“What color are they?...” You ask quietly. Alphys stops as she pulls a shard out from your hand.

You look at her and you watch her swallow and readjust her glasses. You brace yourself. 

“Well?” It comes out more impatient than you meant it to and she flinches the slightest bit “which one? there are seven colors.” Sans says, leaning in a bit towards you--you lean away then stop.

Wait...WHAT?!

“Really? How so?” you ask, sitting up straighter in surprise, your eyebrows pinching together in worry. 

The four of them are staring at you. 

_You have a ring of red..._ Frisk signs.

“Then It Turns Into An orange Sunburst!--”

“T-there’s a yellow edge to i-it and th-then it blends to g-green....”

“then it’s mostly blue, light blue then goes darker until it’s almost indigo around the edge at slightly purple.”

Alphys looks just as confused, but she nods. “I-is...A-are th-they u-usually no-not?...” 

You shake your head. That was different, they usually changed to a more.......which you hated it made you look-- 

“Human?” You turn to look at Papyrus. Right he asked you about them.

“Sorry, I got side-tracked. Uh... well... I have this thing called heterochromia? In the simplest terms, my eyes are different colors than what you’d typically see on a human.” Alphys nods her head. “You’ve heard of it?” You ask her.

“R-read ab-about it.” She answers, getting back to work on your hand, there aren’t that many shards left.

Frisk is tugging your other hand so you turn to look at them, they let go of you to sign, [I like your eyes. They’re beautiful.]

This gets a small genuine smile from you. You pat their head and ruffle their head. “Thanks, Frisk.”

There a more steps approaching and Gerson comes back with Undyne and Toriel and Asgore. “Sorry - - - - -, had to find the first aid kit. Had to get their majesties and Undyne to help me look through storage.” That made you wince. 

“Storage” was basically the basement of the store and it had even more junk in there than the shop itself, you had to hold the door once for Gerson to go and get some stuff to show you--how he fit in there never made sense to you...how he fit all four of them in there--MAGIC.

Alphys had to dig into your hand a bit to get one of the last shards and you bit your lip hard at the pain. “S-sorry! Sorry!” She said quickly.

Gerson came over with the first-aid kit and sat down next to you, handing the kit to Alphys, just as she plucks out the last shard.

“YO, punk!” You look up and Undyne is right in your face and you jump back, and almost slam your other hand into the keys of the piano. A warm, scaly claw rests on your shoulder to steady you.

Cold webbed scaly claws take your chin and hold your head in place as she looks at your eyes.

“Cool eyes. Do they always shift color?” Oh they were doing that again?

“Sometimes...when exposed to different amounts of light or my mood..I guess?” Your voice is small and nervous because she too close. You feel someone, most likely Sans, stare holes into your head.

She leans back and laughs. “Speak up, ya wimp! I don’t bite...often” she gives a sly glance to Alphys who goes red.

She fumbles with the kit and almost drops the bandages and antiseptic spray.

You see Toriel and Asgore looking at you and they slowly walk over; Toriel holds out the sunglasses Gerson found for you.

“Here you are, my child. Are you alright?” She says, looking concerned. 

She’s giving you such a tender, concerning lok and she called you her child (you dubbed Toriel “Goat mom” in your head). She reminded you of your own mother.

You nodded. “I’m ok. Alphys has been taking care of me.” You take the offered glasses and put them beside you on the bench, giving her a shy smile. She gave you one in return and Alphys flushed and sprayed your hand with the antiseptic and you yelped at the stinging pain.

“Sor-sorry!” 

“- - - - -, please excuse Undyne--*Asgore!*-- She’s...” Asgore starts, but you shake your head.

“I’m fine.” You say, but you’re still tearing up from the stinging. You give Asgore, Toriel and Undyne a somewhat teary smile, but Undyne seems slightly guilty and Asgore and Toriel just look concerned. 

Gerson gives you a gentle squeeze on your shoulder.

Alphys quickly wraps your hand with the bandages and a somewhat awkward silence falls over all of you. Papyrus fidgets, unable to keep still and Frisk wedged their way between you and Gerson on the couch, which he chuckles at and Toriel is looking between the three of you warmly.

You test out your hand, opening and closing it slowly. It only vaguely stings.

You take the glasses and slip them on. They’re a bit big for you, but they’ll do.

“Thank you Alphys.” you tell her. She smiles at you, as she packs away the kit. “Yo-your wel-welcome, - - - - -.”

Frisk hugs you around your middle and you gently pat their head. Then you’re whisked off of the bench, you have to grab Frisk so they don’t fall, into the arms of Papyrus who’s somehow cradling you and Frisk.

“HUMAN - - - - -, I THE GREAT PAPYRUS AM GLAD YOU ARE ALRIGHT!” This was really embarrassing, you can feel yourself blushing and the rocking and swinging is slightly dizzying. Frisk is giggling, at least one of you was having fun.

Then again you’re snatched out of Papyrus’s arms and Frisk is sprung loose, but Papyrus catches them before they can hit the floor and you’re hoisted in the air like a child by your armpits.Your head is spinning and your face feels warm, but things come into focus now that you’re being held...by...Undyne...

She looks mad, brows creased and her mouth is a tight grimace--oh you get it. She opens her mouth but no words come out, she open and closes her mouth in frustration. A gapping fish.

You try not to smile. “what’s the matter, undyne? you a fish outta water?” Sans breaks the silence and it’s so bad Undyne drops you to round on him, spear in hand and Toriel snorts. You land a bit unsteady on your feet as Alphysand Asgore hold Undyne from going after Sans, who’s laughing and Frisk and Papyrus are scolding him.

The awkward atmosphere is gone, but somehow you feel uneasy. You fidget as you watch them interact, like they didn’t know you were still there. You felt out of place again. You hold one arm with the other.

Gerson walks up to you as you watch the chaos, but your eyes look to the holes in the walls from Undyne spears.

“...I’m sorry Gerson.” you say.

“Whatever for? It hasn’t been this lively in this shop in awhile--not that I don’t mind just you and your music.” He places a hand on your shoulder again, squeezing lightly.

You don’t answer him, but when you look outside it’s getting dark.

“Fudge-nits, is it this late already?” you say, you slip your phone out of your pocket and check the time.

You looked from Gerson to the others. Gerson smiled at you kindly, sensing your discomfort.

“Wahaha. You don’t have to stay, - - - - -. We’ll be fine. If you need to go. Go. I know you usually leave for home when I close the shop, but I was supposed to close half an hour ago.” He lightly guided you to the door.

You both wince when you hear something break. You give Gerson and unsure look and he chuckles lightly. “Trust me, - - - - -. We’ll be fine. Go home for today. And...if you ever want to talk you know where to find me.” Perceptive old turtle. You nod and give him a hug. 

“Tell them I said ‘Goodnight’ and that ‘It was nice to meet them’?” you say to his ear he chuckles and pats your back. You let go and then slip out the door and into the streets.

You start walking the opposite way of the windows so the monsters don’t see you. You feel guilty for not properly saying “goodbye”, but you really didn’t want to be around anyone right now. It was nothing against them no, it was you but---aagghhhh. You slipped into a short alley between shops.

You leaned against the wall and breathed. It was a busy day and you’re tired, a bit stressed, you itched to play something again, but your house was so far and you weren’t sure if you could handle the subway or a bus...too many people...

Maybe you could take a shortcut today. You eyed the nearby dumpster, pipes and window sills.

Perfect.

\- - - -

Gerson watches them leave.

He’s never asked about their eyes before, and now that he knew he could see and understand why - - - - - never talked about it and why they never took their glasses off. 

He almost recognized the fear, the uncertainty, the hesitance in their eyes. He’s seen that look many times over his long years.

He looked to the group and saw Toriel and Asgore hanging away as Alphys and Papyrus calmed Undyne down.

Well at least they kept the damage to a minimum this time.

\- - - -

Papyrus went silent as Alphys continued to talk to Undyne. Fighting was not always the answer...but Papyrus felt uneasy for an odd reason.

He felt like something was missing. Sans was standing right next to him, the tiny human was in the arms of her majesty, his majesty right next to them, and Undyne and Alphys were right in front of him.

He chose a thinking pose as he thought and looked around.

There were several spears in the wall and a broken vase and Gerson smiled kindly at him, standing by the door...

Wait.

“WHERE DID THE HUMAN GO?”

\- - - -

Sans jerked around the room at Papyrus’s words, but there was just Gerson smiling kindly by the door. No hoodie-vest-plaid shirt-cargo pants-sneaker-sunglasses-wearing human in sight.

"They had to leave. They told me to tell you it was nice meeting you and to have a good night."

“What?! The punk just left without saying goodbye?! LAME!!!” Undyne said. That’s pretty rude.

“They had to get home Undyne, usually they leave the shop when I close it, and I was supposed to close about 35 minutes ago.” Gerson said.

“Oh dear, I‘m sorry Gerson. We’ve kept you and it appears we’ve scared your pianist off.” Toriel said. “They wouldn’t be the first human either” Sans thought bitterly.

“No no. Your majesty. It’s fine. And I’m sure - - - - - will be back tomorrow.” he said. But would they?

 _Really? If they do...Can I come visit again? Please?_ Frisk asked, looking hopeful. Kid seemed to take a liking to them

“Of course Frisk. You’re welcome on my shop anytime.” Frisk smiled.

“Hey Gerson, you know them right? What the deal with their eyes?” Undyne asked.

His smiled dropped and he made a troubled expression. ”- - - - -... *sigh*” Gerson said. What did Gerson know?

“That child has been coming to my shop for so long, but I’ve never asked them anything about themselves and they never shared. They’d come in here and play the piano and we’d talk about little things, but never anything about them.” He admitted.

“So-so y-you di-didn’t know a-about their e-eyes either?” Alphys asked. Gerson shook his head. That was a curious thing about them, never heard of a human that had rainbow heterochromia and whose irises were sensitive to light. Sans had a feeling they were hiding something else though.

“So Was It Bad That We Saw Them?” Papyrus asked, “Will They Not Want To Be Our Friend?” He sniffled.

“aw pap.” Sans rested a hand on Papyrus’s humerus. “cheer up, bro. i’m touching your funny bone after all.” “Sans!” Sans grinned.

“seriously though bro, maybe they’ll come around. Maybe they were just having a bad time. ‘Side who wouldn’t want a cool friend like you?” he said.

“They’ve only just met us as well Papyrus. We’ll just need to get to know them.” Asgore added. Sans smiled a thanks and Asgore nodded back.

“NYEHEHEH! OF COURSE THEN I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS SHALL COME VISIT THEM WITH THE TINY HUMAN AND WE CAN HAVE FRIENDSHIP SPAGHETTI!”

“sure thing bro.” he said. Papyrus beamed.

“Well shouldn’t keep Gerson. We should go home and my child, Undyne...we need to talk” Toriel waved a finger at them both and they looked guilty and sheepish. 

”Shall we go home everyone?” Asgore said.

They said their goodbyes to Gerson and followed Toriel and Asgore to a van parked on the street behind the shop. 

Sans did his best to get a nap in, but before he closed his eyes he caught some movement on a roof they passed.

He saw a shadow jump from one roof to the next and then it was gone.

\- - - -  
You scaled the alley easily, even with your partially-injured hand. Jumping up from the dumpster to the pipe then to the sills and landings and then up to the roofs.

You took off at a jog, jumping over structures, jumping from rooftop to rooftop.

You missed doing this sometimes.

A familiar song begins to play in your head.

 _The more I fight, the more I work_  
_The more I dig into the dirt_  
_To be fed up, to be let down_  
_To somehow turn it all around_

 _But then fate knocks me to my knees_  
_And sets new heights beyond my reach_  
_Below the earth, below concrete_  
_The whole world shackled to my feet_

 _Then it falls away into the great escape_  
_Over walls and weights_  
_This anti-gravity taking over me_

You come to a large gap in the roofs. Taking off your glasses and storing them safely away in your pockets, you run back before sprinting and making the leap. There’s the feeling of flight and weightlessness before you and tuck and roll onto the next roof.

 _And far below, the carnivores,_  
_are looking up to where I soar_  
_Above the clouds, above the storm_  
_Above the earth I am transformed_

 _The energy has set me free_  
_And pulled me through the galaxy_  
_I've risen up beyond the sky_  
_I am awake, I am alive_

 _As it falls away into the great escape_  
_Over walls and weights_  
_This anti-gravity_  
_Let it fly through the universe_  
_Into the outer space_  
_Over walls and weights_  
_This anti-gravity taking over me_

Your body is moving off of memory, jumping over short walls, running over tiles, along tops of roofs, jumping onto pipes and ledges, kicking up and over, jumping down, tucks and rolls, flips...You feel the wind in your face and hair, the blood pumping in your veins, you feel alive...Free.

 _I won't come down_  
_If you wanna break free_  
_You know where to find me_  
_If you wanna break free_  
_You know where You know where..._  
_If you wanna break free_  
_You know where to find me_  
_If you wanna break free_  
_You know where..._

 _As it falls away into the great escape_  
_Over walls and weights_  
_This anti-gravity_  
_Let it fly through the universe_  
_Into the outer space_  
_Over walls and weights_  
_This anti-gravity taking over me_

You’re close to your neighborhood now, and you stand on the ledge of the last roof of a building. By now it’s dark and you look up at the stars and moon and then out over the town towards the city lights.

You slide down the nearest pipe and drop down to the ground.

 _If you wanna break free_  
_You know where to find me_  
_If you wanna break free_  
_You know where You know where..._  
_Anti-gravity~_  
_Anti-gravity~_  
_Anti-gravity~_

You start walking.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> reader knows parkour/free-running!! 
> 
> Leave me comments. 
> 
> Feedback is appreciated. :3


	4. Please Don’t Go

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> a regular sunny day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm getting so irregular with updating these and i HATE it.
> 
> PLUS my silly little brain has concocted more stories for me to write (which i haven't done...completely ok who am i kidding they're sitting in my computer half-done BUT I AM DETERMINED TO FINISH AT LEAST ONE OF THESE FICS BEFORE I GET AHEAD OF MYSELF AND POST ANYTHING Else.)
> 
> *insert angry roaring/screaming reverberating throughout the multiverse and timelines here*
> 
> Ok enough angst and more silly drabble crap.
> 
> Enjoy~
> 
> also more fanart from Dawngent/Addi: http://addig2002.deviantart.com/art/Frisk-as-the-Bros-602924831

Papyrus was still upset.

Sans didn’t like it when Papyrus was upset.

After the night with the human, they all went to Toriel and Asgore’s place where they had to listen to them lecturing Frisk about running off. The stupid flower had even hissed and gave his two cents, they’d all almost forgotten they’d left him alone in the house. Sans checked the place thoroughly just in case.

Frisk was quiet the rest of the night, as Toriel had them all stay for dinner, like they’d planned, but sometimes he caught Frisk tapping out a beat with their fingers.

It sounded faintly like the song the human played.

The human.

Sans smile slipped a bit from his face at the thought of them.

They hadn’t gone back to Gerson’s shop for at least a week now. Papyrus and Frisk went to check almost everyday since while everyone else--himself included--had work.

Gerson seemed just as sad as they were, but each time Sans came home to see his brother frowning..it made his eye flare up in anger.

Nobody should be able to do that to his brother--not even some musically-talented, pretty-eyed-human!

Woah, wait back up!--They were a strange human yeah..and those eyes...the orange and blue of them stood out the most to him...Sans huffed in agitation, thinking hard about them.

Their smile was nostalgic and sad, distant. They were polite but kept themselves at a distance, but their reaction to their own eyes...it made Sans wonder. They certainly had something going on with them.

Thinking back to Papyrus, how dejected he seemed to be the past week, mad Sans a little mad at them, but he knew if he was angry it’d make Papyrus upset well MORE upset. No bones about it. 

Sans smiled to himself, as he heard Papyrus yell, “SANS THE TINY HUMAN WANTS TO GO TO THE PARK TODAY!!!” Some of his energy seemed to be returning. Sans grin grew wider as he lazily sat up, opening up the blinds of his window just a bit.

Sans looked outside at the sky, the sun was rising and it turned the edges of the sky, orange and blue, an image of their eyes flashed to his mind.

Whatever it was they were hiding...Sans was determined to find out.

He hears something faint coming from outside and cracks open his window to a small breeze of flowers and leaves carrying a tune on the wind. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8PZvPpNj2Mk (you'll need this)]

\- - - -

You opened an eye and looked through your window.

It was a beautiful day outside, birds were singing, flowers were blooming, sun was shining, on days like these...you should be smiling wide, jumping out of bed, and grabbing your trusty trumpet to play a tune to greet the new day, but you instead you lay there.  
You watch as a slight breeze stirs the leaves of the trees and flowers and a hummingbird flies by your window.

Why did it have to be such a nice day today?

You slowly sit up with a breath and slip your feet onto the cool wood floor of your room, looking around at your walk-in closet, various sheets of music and instrument cases, along the wall, your desk covered in papers and books and notes, your two bookshelves, one filled with books you’ve collected (acquired) over the years in school and the other full of other books, fantasy novels, sci-fi series, manga, anime, random trinkets and figures, etc. 

You stand up, adjusting your tank top and baggy pants and run a hand through your bed-hair, walking towards your balcony, passing a case and walking over sheet music. You stop over the case and bend down, opening it up to reveal a silver trumpet.

You take it out and adjust the mouthpiece and play a few notes, tuning it. You tuck it under your arm and walk up to the glass sliding door, slide it open and step out onto your little balcony and up the ladder to the roof of your house, surrounded by the trees, high on Mt. Ebbot.

You play a song to greet the day and the birds in the trees fly out and you watch them as they twist around in the air overhead and down the mountain to the houses far below you, the wind carrying the leaves and flower petals away with your song. (Anybody see "Castle in the Sky"? or "Your Lie in April"?)

\- - - -

Frisk was eating breakfast with a certain yellow Flower, Toriel was doing dishes, and Asgore was reading the newspaper when both Asgore and Toriel’s ears picked up and Toriel opened a nearby window. The sounds of a trumpet playing filled the house and Frisk stopped eating to listen.

Along with the first sunrise they first saw with all of their monster friends, they heard a similar trumpet play a song, not always the same song, but sometimes.

Someone, somewhere played their trumpet every morning around this time, it could be heard fairly locally around the mountain, but no one could figure out who or where the music came from. It had to be a human of course, but as far as anyone could tell there wasn’t a house in sight.

That was a while ago.

“Can someone make it stop already?!” Flowey said, from his pot on the table by Frisk. 

As if hearing his wish, the music stopped.

Frisk pouted at Flowey, as Asgore chuckled and Toriel gave a small sigh, still smiling at them anyway.

\- - - -

You finish playing your music and just sit on your roof, back to the sun and look around at the plants and trees around you, which hid your house from prying eyes. Then you look down at your trumpet, it’s silver surface shining in the morning sunlight. You saw yourself in the shining silver.

Your eyes a shining blue and orange, with the edges of your iris turning a darker blue and a ring of golden yellow around your pupil.

Orange and blue. Thoughts of the skeleton brothers invade your mind. Papyrus’s innocence and sweetness and unprecedented concern for you. Sans unpredictable movements and his stares and ever present grin.

Meeting monsters...It made you think of Gerson--was he upset? Mad?sad?--your chest felt tight at and your body weighed down with guilt for avoiding the shop.Your brows furrow and you lean back to look at the sky. 

After watching some clouds roll across the sky in various shapes, your stomach interrupts your thought process and you get off the roof and head back inside your room, placing the trumpet on your desk before closing the glass door and walking out into the hall to the bathroom. You brushed your teeth, combed your hair, and washed your face. You stare at the mirror again, your orange and blue eyes stare back at you.

You leave the bathroom and quickly walk down the hall to your room. You head straight for your closet and dig out a shirt, a hoodie, some jeans and you pick up your guitar and slip it into it’s soft case and sling the straps over your shoulders.

Before heading out, grabbing some shades from your desk, the same ones Gerson had given you.

\- - - -

Toriel came over to drop off Frisk with Papyrus and Sans. Sans has actually come down to the couch in the living room by then and the kid came up to him and sat down, leaning on him as he pretended to nap, he wrapped one arm around the kid and they giggled.

Toriel chuckled but as she moved her gaze over to Sans. They share a smile and then she departs.

Sans is already falling back asleep, maybe he’s more tired than he thought. He vaguely hears Papyrus yelling at him, but he just falls asleep again.

It’s dark. Was this the void?

“SANS!” “Sans?” Two voices called for him. He recognized Papyrus’s voice, but who was the other?

“Papyrus?” the unfamiliar voice called. “______!” Papyrus answered, but it was garbled. Who was that?

His vision was filled with orange and blue. He saw Papyrus appear and reach out to him from the orange and he rose out of the blue to reach him, from where the two colors met came a human with rainbow eyes.

Sans wakes up in the arms of Papyrus. He blinks his sockets open and Frisk’s face enters his line of vision. They gently stroke over his skull with their hand, as Papyrus keeps walking. 

They’re in a park, there are trees and flowers and bees and birds and a nice breeze. Papyrus stops next to a bench and Sans pretends to sleep as he’s gently set down on the bench and Papyrus speaks.

“Sans You Lazybones How Long Are You Going to Feign Sleep?” he asks. Sans opens a socket, “heh guess nothin’ get’s past ya bro.” Papyrus huffs, but his grin is triumphant as he settles his hands from his hipbones and holds onto Frisk’s legs on either side of his head.

“OF COURSE SANS NOTHING GETS PAST THE GREAT PAPYRUS NYEH HEH HEH!!” And then he and Frisk are off to the nearby playground. 

Sans closes his sockets again, but then the wind carries guitar playing and a song.

 _“I'm borderline happy and I'm borderline sad_  
_I'm borderline good and I'm borderline bad_

 _And I can't get rid of a tingling fear_  
_You'd sort me out if my head gets clear_

 _I live my life in shackles but I'm borderline free_  
_I used to be blind and I still can't see_

 _And I won't get around to a change of mind_  
_As long as nobody breaks my stride....”_

He knew that voice.

\- - - -

Papyrus was worried about Sans. He wasn’t stupid. His brother was tired, but this was different from how he was Underground. He knew for a long time that Sans only put on a smile to make it as though everything was fine and he told jokes to cover up whatever it was that he was hiding.

Papyrus only acted out against his jokes, mostly to make his brother laugh, but also as a way to vent out his own frustrations at his brother’s unwillingness to open up, even to him. He also knew that whatever he seemed to be hiding, gave him nightmares a night, as he feigned sleep, but each time he tried to wake his brother up Sans wouldn’t let him in and he’d be gone for days at a time. Then he’d come home as if nothing happened.

This time he seemed troubled by something else. Sans seemed deep in thought and Papyrus had a vague idea as to why.

The human had not shown up at Gerson’s shop and Sans seemed to get upset when Papyrus was, even if he tried like his brother to cover it up with his usual enthusiasm and spaghetti and puzzles and japes.

The human...He sighed and that got Frisk attention from the slide, as they leapt on him.

[Papyrus are you ok?] they signed. “Yes Tiny Human I’m Fine.” He said, smiling at them. They pouted a bit, but they looked troubled as they looked over his shoulder. And he turned around and saw that Sans was standing by the bench sockets trained on something.

Papyrus followed his line of sight past the grass and dogs and other humans and monsters to a fountain along the pathway that wound through the park.

A human was sitting on the fountain holding a guitar. They wore a short sleeved shirt and jeans, but the most striking thing was that they wore sunglasses. The same sunglasses Gerson had given the human at the shop.

It was THE human, - - - - -.

\- - - -

You had noticed Papyrus run into the park carrying Frisk and Sans, in the beginning of playing a song, and you almost faltered, but kept going. Several of the humans and monsters in the park seemed to enjoy the music while others remained neutral and only one monster seemed annoyed. (F U TOO JERRY)

You stopped singing and sat at the fountain with your guitar, staring at the floor.

Should you stay or should you go? You still felt guilty for not properly saying goodbye to them and still felt guilty about not going to see Gerson all week and you felt ashamed that you couldn’t friggin’ LET IT GO already. (seriously - - - - - WTH) You sigh, still thinking.

Wasn’t this the point of finally getting out? You had planned to see Gerson today after you played in the park. Now that Sans, Papyrus, and Frisk were here though...

You know what? EFF IT. 

You begin with hums and slowly add the chords and tap your heel along with the tune.

 _“Nobody ever knows_  
_Nobody ever sees_  
_I left my soul_  
_Back there now I'm too weak_  
_Most nights I pray for you to come home_  
_Praying to the Lord_  
_Praying for my soul”_

 _“Now please~ don't go_  
_Most nights I hardly sleep when I'm alone_  
_Now please~ don't go, oh no_  
_I think of you whenever I'm alone_  
_So please don't go”_

You hum and look up, noticing the skelebros and Frisk in the distance, coming closer. Guess you were going to get more of an audience.

 _“Cause I don't ever want to know_  
_Don't ever want to see things change_  
_Cause when I'm living on my own_  
_I'll wanna take it back and start again_  
_Most nights I pray for you to come home_  
_Praying to the Lord_  
_Praying for my soul”_

 _“Now please~ don't go_  
_Most nights I hardly sleep when I'm alone_  
_Now please~ don't go, oh no_  
_I think of you whenever I'm alone_  
_So please don't go...!”_

 _“I send so many messages you don't reply!_  
_I gotta figure out what am I missing babe!_  
_Singing now oh Ooohhh~_  
_And I need you now, I need your love! Ah ah Woah~”_

 _“Now please~ don't go_  
_Most nights I hardly sleep when I'm alone_  
_Now please~ don't go, oh no_  
_I think of you whenever I'm alone_  
_So Please don't--_  
_Please~ don't go”_

 _“Please~ don't go_  
_Please~ don't go_  
_Please~ don't go_  
_I think of you whenever I'm alone_  
_So please don't go”_

You end the song with your hums. You don’t know when you closed your yes, but when you open them again Sans Papyrus and Frisk are standing not ten feet away.

Papyrus has star in his sockets once again, but they’re a bit smaller than before and Frisk beams at you from their place at his shoulders, Sans gives you a lazy grin, but somehow he’s still intimidating.

You choose to speak first.

“Hello. It’s a beautiful day outside.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yeah i went there and 3 songs (kinda) in one chapter~~ HUZZAH!
> 
> Also Dawngent (thanks for the songs suggestions!)


	5. Somewhere Only We Know

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> public apologies and private apologies

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THIS IS BACK. Everything is back. SO let's get back to it!

Sans and Frisk seem to freeze at your words, but Papyrus breaks them out of it a second later by saying, “YES IT IS PRETTY-EYED HUMAN!” You sit up straighter as a response, looking at him incredulously, you can feel a blush forming on your cheeks.

He seems to horribly backpedal and his skull turns almost completely orange at his own words and he’s sputtering and his arms flail trying to cover up his words, but you can’t understand a thing. His words are jumbled and on top of that his bones are rattling so loud they drown out his words. Did you hear some music notes?

Frisk is silently shaking with laughter at his antics and Sans snickers, his head thrown back as his bones rattle with his laughter. You think you’re hearing more music notes, staring at the two brothers. Papyrus seems to have a range from middle C and up while Sans seems to have a range of middle C and down. 

...AWESOME.

You watch them closely for a few more minutes while Sans and Frisk try to soothe the taller skeleton.

“Papyrus?” you called, waving a hand at him. The three of them looked to you, Papyrus still slightly orange in the face. You beckon him over and he does so hesitantly, Sans smile seems to strain and he looked like he’s sweating glowing blue drops. Frisk was rubbing what you think are soothing circles into Papyrus’s skull, not caring about his own glowing orange sweat.

He fidgeted and kept looking at you and then looking away.

“Hey, don’t worry about it so much Papyrus. You were just complimenting me?...” Your voice trails off your question, a bit unsure. He nods so vigorously that you worry his head might come off.

You smiled, hoping to reassure the skeleton. “Then what’s the problem?” you asked, but you had this sinking feeling in your gut when his mandible opens and closes with a soft “click”.

Frisk seems to fidget with their hands as well, but eventually they sign [You seem sensitive about your eyes.] 

Oh.

“Eye know you don’t see-m to like them kid.” Sans jokes, but his gaze is piercing, like he’s looking through you. His left socket going blue for a split second before turning back to normal.

You felt guilt clawing at your insides. They weren’t wrong. You tended to do this, instead of facing your problems you ran and hid. Your mood dropped significantly as you put down your guitar and packed it away in your case.

“You’re right. I am.” You say standing up, but looking down at the ground. You took a deep breath. And looked back up at them. “I’m sorry.” You give them a smile.

You felt their stares at your back as you started walking away. You didn’t want to cause a scene. You didn’t need the attention.

“Human? Where Are You Going?” Papyrus called after you, sounding confused.

“To visit an old friend.” you called back. Just keep walking. They’ll let you go. You reasoned with yourself.

You felt your vision blurring. No! You couldn’t cry! You needed to go see Gerson. You needed to apologize. 

You heard small footsteps follow you, trying to keep up with you. And then you felt a weight at on your leg as Frisk latched onto it.

“F-frisk? What are you doing?” Frisk only stared up at you in concern. You were already down a couple blocks from the park on the sidewalk. Where were...? You heard the echoes of Papyrus’s voice as he was running towards the two of you, carrying Sans over his shoulder. “hhhhhuuuUUUMMMMMAAANNN!!!!!” Other people parted like the red sea so he could pass.

You side stepped as he screeched to a halt, his red boots squealing against the pavement as he finally stopped a few feet in front of you.

Sans’s sockets are empty again, but instead of angry or intimidating, he almost looked...fragile? Sad? Nervous? He was sweating blue bullets more profusely than before.

Papyrus turned around and he looks very serious as he holds out Sans in front of you and Frisk. Frisk blows a raspberry at him, but persists to cling to your leg, puffing out their cheeks. You would have found it adorable if there wasn’t a very tall and somewhat agitated skeleton holding his, sweaty, nervous brother by his armpits in you face.

“Umm...?” you managed to say, trying to look anywhere but at Sans, a small crowd of people were gathering, and some had their phones out.

Oh no.

“HUMAN!” Papyrus caught your attention.

“Yes?” you says nervously.

“MY BROTHER HAS SOMETHING HE WANTS TO SAY TO YOU.”

You directed your attention to Sans, who still had that empty-socketed expression, but the tiny dots that made up his eyes flickers to life and his smile turned sheepish and awkward as he dug a hand from out of his hoodie’s pockets to rub his skull.

“uh...sorry about earlier. eye didn’t mean to offend ya.” he said.

“I APOLOGIZE TOO HUMAN.” Papyrus says.

You stare at them both, who seem to be looking at you expectantly. You look from Sans to Papyrus. Dammit they’re BOTH giving you the kicked puppy faces! and if you weren’t feeling guilty before...you felt it twice as much now. (You had a feeling you were--very quickly--going to wrapped around these monsters bony phalanges)

“You guys have nothing to apologize to me for, and I’m the one who should apologize.” you says seriously, holding up a hand to stop either of them from speaking.

“If we keep doing this blame game we’ll be on this sidewalk all day,” you say this as you eye the growing crowd of people. “But I’m sure Frisk has to go home and you two have better things to do than to spend an entire day discussing...whatever this weird guilt trip is. SO!” you continue.

They’re staring at you wide socketed. Sans slips from Papyrus’s hands and stands there, while Papyrus comes up to stand next to him.

“Let’s just agree to disagree and be on our way.” you say, patting Frisk’s beaming head as they smile wide at you. They let go and jump towards Papyrus, latching onto his bony waist, as you come between both skeletons and take either of their arms and began tugging them down the street through the crowd of humans.

\- - - -

Sans and Papyrus both stared at each other silently as - - - - - dragged them down the street. Frisk had climbed up from Papyrus’s waist to his back and they all shared a look between the three of them .

Frisk already smiling wide, while Sans looked nervous but a real smile was on his face for once, it was small but it was there. Papyrus had a smile slowly growing on his face until it seemed to radiate light and happiness.

Frisk silently giggled to themselves and made a note to talk to Alphys later on their newest ship.

\- - - -

You were half-aware that you’re literally dragging two skeletons and a child behind you as you made your way towards Gerson’s shop. You’re certain you’re face is flushed, but you keep your face and eyes firmly ahead as you make the turns, ignoring the looks you get from both humans and monsters. You were also aware that the two skeleton brothers were strangely quiet.

You feel their arms slip from your hands, but you continue walking several steps ahead, you were almost to the plaza. You could see the statue in the middle of it surrounded by a garden, flowers in full bloom, green leaves rustling in the gentle breeze, and small bushes. You halfway turn back to the others a small hesitant smile on your, still partially flushed face.

“Sorry for dragging you, but we’re here.” You try to sound enthusiastic, but even to you it sounds forced. You don’t turn your head enough to see their faces, but you hear their replies.

“CERTAINLY HUMAN.” “sure thing kiddo. Didn’t know you needed a hand or an arm so badly.” What? You turn around and you almost feel your glasses slip from your face because HE’S. LITERALLY. HOLDING. HIS. ARM. His sleeve is empty and limp at his side and his detached arm is wiggling it’s fingers at you.

You’re mouth drops open and you can’t find anything to say. You stay there frozen. Frisk is even staring wide-eyed at Sans, you vaguely note they have red eyes. And Papyrus is looking at his brother in disbelief, his mandible hanging loose as the three of you stare at him. He’s doubled over with laughter, clutching his stomach with both arms--which is really strange because he’s holding one arm in the other, such that his detached arm clutches the shoulder of where it should be attached.

“OH MY--HOLY--ARE YOU OK?!” you finally break the stupor you, Frisk and Papyrus were in. “I DIDN’T YANK OFF YOUR ARM, TOO, DID I?” you panic, looking at Papyrus fearfully. He shakes his skull and has his hands up in a calming motion. 

“Please Calm Down Human. Sans Is Just Playing A Rather Improper Prank On You.” the bone of his forehead creases in worry and you take some deep breaths.

Frisk taps Papyrus’s skull and points to Sans, who having a bit of trouble re-attaching his arm as he’s still laughing.

“Uh...pap? heh heh heh. Little help?” 

“You Got Yourself Into This Mess Sans. You Can Get Yourself Out.” Papyrus crossed his arms and gave Sans an unamused look and Frisk copied his face. Sweat Broke out on Sans’s skull again and he scratched his skull again with his still detached arm.

You’d finally got your racing-panicked heart under control with deep breathing and then exasperation because that wasn’t the least bit funny to you. Well you learned something new though. Magic skeletons are held together by magic and not cartilage and detach their own limbs and freely move said limbs even if they are detached. 

Magic is freaking strange.

You just shake your head and turn to keep walking. You feel a small hand grip yours though. You look to the side and see Frisk walking at your side, a small pout on their face in mock anger. This gets you to smile and you lightly curl your hand around theirs and squeeze it.

You both stop and look back at Papyrus who was ranting and raving at his brother. The two of you share a look and laugh, as Papyrus and Sans’s voices echoed down the block.

Frisk tugged your hand towards the plaza and you let them lead you to the front of Gerson’s shop. The front door is closed, but you’re sure the shop should still be open.

You hesitate and Frisk’s hand slips from yours as they run for the door, only to stop and look back at you questioningly. You hold your arm, curling in on yourself and biting your lip in nervousness.

What if he’s mad at you? What if he doesn’t want to see you? What if--

There’s a gentle nudge on the backs of both your shoulders and you stumble forward a little. You turn around as you recover and both Papyrus and Sans are behind you, giving you smiles.

Just as they’re going to say something, Frisk hugs you around the waist, giving you a thumbs up.

You pat their head and they nuzzle into you affectionately.

“Mind waiting out here you guys?” you finally say, gathering your courage. You do want to talk to Gerson, but them watching you would make you more uncomfortable. 

“Of Course, Human. We’ll Wait Out Here.” Papyrus says, nodding his head and grinning broadly.

“break a leg.” Sans says, earning him a playful swat from his brother. 

Frisk nods enthusiastically and all but pushes you towards the door. You feel like you’re walking a mile when it’s just a few feet to the door. 

You open the door and the shop is empty, no Gerson behind the counter, but somehow the shop feels cold. The piano is still sitting in the front window, but the fallboard is covering the keys this time. You can hear some clanging and rustles and you hear Gerson’s distinct voice muttering curses, so you simply sit at the piano’s bench as quietly as possible.

You can hear your own heart pound in your chest and in your ears and sweat start to bead on your forehead and nervous shaking your legs and hands, but you manage to slip the case from your back and pull the guitar out.

Now or never, - - - - -. You take a deep breath and when you exhale you begin the first chords and strums.

_I walked across an empty land_  
_I knew the pathway like the back of my hand_  
_I felt the earth beneath my feet_  
_Sat by the river and it made me complete_

You heard more clattering of objects and the pattering of scaled feet on the floor, approaching quickly.

_Oh simple thing where have you gone?_  
_I'm getting old and I need something to rely on_  
_So tell me when you're gonna let me in_  
_I'm getting tired and I need somewhere to begin_

You lock eyes with Gerson behind the counter. He looks surprised and your voice falters a bit as you choke, almost starting to cry, but you keep going.

_I came across a fallen tree_  
_I felt the branches of it looking at me_  
_Is this the place we used to love?_  
_Is this the place that I've been dreaming of~?_

You let the tears fall as you sing, trying to convey your feelings and apologises to him. No - - - - - stop looking at him and continue. Don’t Stop. DON’T STOP. You close your eyes, feeing the strings beneath your fingers, the music in your head and coming from your mouth and get lost to the music.

_Oh simple thing~ where have you gone?_  
_I'm getting old and I need something to rely on_  
_So tell me when~ you're gonna let me in_  
_I'm getting tired and I need somewhere to begin~_

_And if~ you have a minute why don't we go_  
_Talk~ about it somewhere only we know?_  
_This could be the end of everything~_  
_So why don't we go_  
_Somewhere only we know?_  
_Somewhere only we know..?_

_Oh simple thing~ where have you gone?_  
_I'm getting old and I need something to rely on_  
_So tell me when~ you're gonna let me in_  
_I'm getting tired and I need somewhere to begin~_

_And if~ you have a minute why don't we go_  
_Talk~ about it somewhere only we know?_  
_This~ could be the end of everything_  
_So why don't we go?_  
_So why don't we go..?_

_MMM--AAHH~~_  
_AAAh--ooh~~_

_This could be the end of everything_  
_So why don't we go_  
_Somewhere only we know?_  
_Somewhere only we know..?_  
_Somewhere...only...we...know..._

You wipe your eyes and sniffle. “C-can i-I still make the old man ha-happy?” you asked. You heard the sound of scaled feet on the floor approach you and felt a dip in the cushion of the bench beside you. Then you felt a scaled claw on your shoulder bring you gently close to a shell and scaled shoulder.

“Of course, - - - - -. Of course.” he says in his gravelly voice, thick with emotion.

You openly start crying, like a dam had broken inside you and he just sits there rubbing your shoulder.

He doesn’t say a word...he doesn’t have to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> emotional rollercoaster rides because i need to keep you guessing.
> 
> Please give me comments and feedback. :)
> 
> Thanks and see you next time! OH and...
> 
> Grillby's, Muffet's, Dinner at the skelebros, Dinner at Toriel's, or Anime sleepover hangout at Undyne's?
> 
> (of course i'm doing all of them, but i want to see which you guys want to see happen first as apology for not updating this fic, if anyone was still waiting for it)


	6. Skeleton Song

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Skeleton you are my friend...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm a month late and i was working on the next chapter but it went really long so i decided to cut it into 2 so here's the first half!!!
> 
> Thanks for your patience, 200+kudos, ~50 bookmarks, and 2200+hits!!
> 
> enjoy!!

Gerson had been missing you for days, several of the other shopkeepers in the plaza had even come in and asked him what had happened to the music they’d heard coming from his shop. He didn’t know what to tell them...Now - - - - - was back, crying at his shoulder and apologizing like they’d committed some grave sin.

He had missed them. And let them get all of their emotions he knows they usually kept inside. He heard in their music, it was their outlet. They poured everything in their music, their sadness, their tears, their happiness, their laughter, their frustrations, their screams, their whole heart, their whole SOUL.

Gerson could hear it all.

He softly rubs their shoulder and they soak in the silence of the store as their tears dry off, but Gerson knows they’re being watched and he turns his head and sure enough Papyrus and Frisk are pressed against the glass, concerned and slightly embarrassed (on Papyrus’s part if the orange on his face was any indication) at being caught. Sans is hung back but his pinpricks were focused on - - - - - rather than Gerson and Gerson smiles at the three of them and motions them to be quiet with a claw to his mouth. 

Papyrus and Frisk back away from the window and nod vigorously and Sans and Gerson lock eyes and Gerson winks at him, causing him to turn slightly blue.

“Come now, - - - - -. Don’t cry.” he said gently and they sniffled lightly. He pulled some tissues and a bottle of water from his inventory and handed the items to them and they took the tissues to wipe their eyes underneath their glasses and blow their nose.

“S-sorry.” they manage to mumble out and Gerson just smile at them, giving their shoulder a gentle squeeze. They give him a small embarrassed smile in return. They sat in comfortable silence the tension in the room gone and replaced by a calming quiet. And then one of the clocks chimed for the hour and the two of them jumped at the sound, startled.

They looked to each other and burst into laughter.

Once they calm down he speaks up, “- - - - -, why don’t you get cleaned up in the back? I’m going to close the shop,” he says. 

They look towards him, surprised. “I-is it that late already?...” They look to the clock. “Holy crap, is it that late already?” They seem to realize something. “Oh MY Fudging!! I left Frisk, Sans, and Papyrus outside for---”

Gerson had to stop them by pulling them up and all but pushing them towards the back room which had a sink, towels, his workbench and other antiques that needed fixing. They hardly ever went back there but he insisted. 

“I’ll let them inside. Don’t worry, - - - - -. Just focus on cleaning up a bit alright? Oh. And you can leave your guitar by the piano.”

“...ok Gerson.” He smiled as they did what they were told, setting their guitar in its case before setting it against the wall and then walking towards the backdoor. Once the door closed behind them, he went to the front door and opened it. Papyrus barreled through, Frisk clutched to his leg and Sans under his arm.

“GOOD EVENING GERSON!” Papyrus says, having seemingly gotten over his earlier embarrassment. “Sup?” Sans said from under Papyrus’s arm, looking content. Frisk got off of Papyrus’s leg and started to sign, [Are they ok?]

Gerson nods, but puts one scaled claw to his mouth and points to the door to the back, where the sounds of running water could easily be heard. The three of them nod.

“So how did you---” he started but was interrupted by Papyrus getting a call on his phone (insert “Spear of Justice” ringtone here).

“OH IT’S UNDYNE! EXCUSE ME GERSON!” He leaves the store to answer the phone, but they could still hear the conversation through the glass.

Sans and Frisk’s smiles seem to grow and Gerson chuckles.

\- - - -

You wash your face in the sink of Gerson’s back room, and wipe your face with clean towels set in a stack by the sink. You look in the mirror and thankfully there’s no evidence of your crying session except that your eyes were a bit puffy and red, but not too noticeable with your glasses.

Your eyes had changed colors to a more green and yellow, green around your pupil that slowly changed to a golden yellow around the edge of your irises. You slip your glasses back on and head back into the main part of the shop, where you could hear Gerson’s quiet chuckle and muffled talking.

When you stepped back into the shop, Sans, Frisk, and Gerson were watching Papyrus outside the shop pacing back and forth, waving his arm frantically as the other hand held his phone and by his expression he was pretty excited.

Sans turns to you and gives you a lazy wave and Frisk runs up to you to give you a hug around the waist. Gerson just smiles at you, in that old man smile you both hate and love so much.

“Ah - - - - -, are you alright?” he asks. You nod, not trusting your voice and gently pet Frisk’s head, which they seem to nuzzle into you.

You jump a bit when the door slams open though. Papyrus was talking so fast you can’t understand a word, but there are literal stars in his sockets and he’s waving his arms so fast they’re a blur. You had to blink several times to figure out if the orange light, random flowers, twinkles and stars were coming from him or not.

“yo pap, slow down.” Sans chuckled, highly amused. Papyrus was huffing, somehow, taking deep breaths.

“Wahahahaha! What’s gotten you so excited?” Gerson asked.

“TODAY IS--WELL WAS ANIME NIGHT AT UNDYNE’S AND ALPHYS’S PLACE, BUT SINCE OUR NEW HUMAN FRIEND IS HERE---I WANTED TO INVITE THEM OVER FOR SPAGHETTI NIGHT--AND THEN UNDYNE SUGGESTED WE JUST HAVE ANIME-SPAGHETTI NIGHT INSTEAD!!!!” He was really excited and that was the most you got out of his rambling.

Frisk had hopped off you and then continuing to hop up and down signing, [Please] over and over again. For good measure, they put on that darned kicked-puppy pouty face. You made the istake of looking away from them and caught Papyrus’s puppy face--sockets shining with orange stars and hearts and clasping his gloved hands in front of his skull at you.

May the stars have mercy upon your soul should you deny them.

They all waited for your answer. You looked to Gerson for help, but he just chuckles. “Don’t worry - - - - -. We can have our own lunch tomorrow. I know this very nice cafe you’ll like.” He rests a claw at your shoulder. 

You looked at him confused. “But we--” “Well I’m asking you to come over tomorrow for lunch with me. So what do you say - - - - -? Care for a lunch date with this old turtle?” he winks at you.

You flush just a bit, but smile at him anyway. “Sure.” you answer.

“NYEH?! HUMAN, YOU’RE HAVING A DATE--” “Platonic date, Papyrus.” Gerson interrupts.

“Soooo...anyway, kid, you hanging out with us tonight or what?” Sans says.

Frisk had stopped jumping and clung back to you again, literally climbing up you to your stomach, chin on your sternum and pouting.

“Yeah, sure if you guys will have me.” Frisk beams at you and hugs you tight, as Papyrus squeals before sweeping you--Frisk still attached-- into a hug. Then held you out by your armpits.

“WONDERFUL FRIEND! NOW ONWARD TO OUR HOUSE!!! NYEH HEH HEH!!” He then proceeded to throw you over his shoulder, while Frisk had somehow gotten off of you and sat at Papyrus’s shoulders behind his skull.

“W-wait! P-papyrus I can walk!!” you say struggling a bit to get down. Your face was red at this point.

“heh.” Sans said and you pouted at him and Gerson, who laughed. Then Sans was grabbed and tucked under Papyrus’s other arm and then you were all flying out the door while Papyrus’s yelled, “BYE GERSON!!!! NYEH HEH HEH!!!” 

His laughter followed you down the block, and was taken away by the wind. You were moving so fast everything was a blur and you closed your eyes as the sounds of the air, frisk’s and Papyrus’s laughter, and various other sounds like cars, people yelling, and snores(?) filled your ears.

You had to close your eyes and clutch onto Papyrus as best you could because you were getting travel sickness, from the uncomfortable position, and the fact that you had no lunch that day.

You just tuned out the noise as best you could and hang on for dear life.

You don’t really notice that you’ve arrived until Papyrus yells, “HUMAN FRIENDS AND SANS! WE HAVE ARRIVED!!” You still haven’t gained your bearings and Papyrus’s voice in your ears makes them ring.

You feel yourself being lifted off of Papyrus and set down, but your eyes are still shut and your ears are ringing and you’re unsteady, so once Papyrus let’s go you stumble a bit only to feel small hands holding your side. Your eyes are blinded by the light and you blink to adjust them, despite the sunglasses--you were lucky they stayed on.

Your ears are still ringing and you can faintly hear Papyrus’s voice, and it gets clearer as you shake your head to clear it. “--- FRIEND? Can You Hear Me?” You face him and he’s leaning over you, hands on your shoulders, skull scrunched up in worry. 

“Ye--Yeah i’m ok just a bit dizzy don’t worry.” you try to reassure him, as you pat him on one of his gloved hands. He didn’t look convinced until your stomach gurgled a bit. 

“Nyeh? HUMAN WHAT WAS THAT?” he asked. You felt more stable now and patted Frisk’s head as they giggled. You turned to Papyrus after ruffling Frisk’s hair for laughing at you. Maybe he didn’t know that much about humans? 

“Don’t worry Papyrus. That’s just my stomach. It makes that noise when I’m hungry.” you give him a slightly embarrassed smile, not entirely sure your explanation would get through to him. Frisk also nods their head in agreement.

It was then that you all heard several loud honks and a nice blue Chevrolet Corvette. It was Undyne and Alphys. Undyne immediately killed the engine and jumped out the car, slamming her door shut--how she fit in the car you didn’t know. 

She immediately stormed over to Papyrus and put him in a headlock and giving him noogies. “ACK PLEASE DON”T NOOGIE THE SKELETON!!” he begged her and she just laughed. “FUHUHUHU~! What’s up punks?! Who’s ready for an awesome spaghetti-anime night?!”

She caught your eye and smiled sharply at you. “Hey nerd.” “Hey Undyne” you answered, grinning toothily at her.“U-undyne? Co-could you h-help me with th-the a-anime and snacks?” Alphys called from the car. “Sure thing babe!” 

She grabbed everything from her car into her arms, including Alphys and ran to the house, kicking the door open?--you could have sworn it just opened for her as she was going to kick it though. Papyrus and Frisk followed her in as she called, “YO PAP, FRISK GET IN HERE AND HELP ME MAKE DINNER WHILE ALPH SETS UP THE ANIME!!!”

You watch after Papyrus, as he and Frisk run into the house, then you shake your head and laugh. There’s the sound of a lot of pots banging and laughing, so they were having fun--you think...But...Maybe you should go check on them...? They had seemed to forgotten that you were there.

The thought made you a bit sad, but you simply sighed and stood there, looking around the outside of the house. It looked nice, all wood paneling on the walls, the small windows, like a log cabin in the middle of typical suburban neighborhood...actually most of the houses around here were equally unique, none of them looked the same. You also noticed that where this neighborhood was was close to your actual house. And you had to smack your forehead because OF COURSE it would, this was one of the closer neighborhood by Mt.Ebbot.

“Hey, kid.” You jump and turn towards the voice and find Sans slouched against the still open front door. He lazily nods his head towards the inside.

“Ya comin’ in or are you going to stay out here a-door-ing the view? not that i wood blame ya, but house about you come in?” he’s giving you a sly grin and you just have to giving a snort at how bad they are.  
But you walk up a ways to the door anyway. A song playing in your head:

_Skeleton you are my friend_  
_But you are made of bone_  
_And you have got no flesh and blood_  
_Running through you to help protect the bone_

_Skeleton we have been friends...for years_  
_And you have seen me through some trials_  
_And tribulations and... some tears_  
_But everybody thinks I'm weird_

_And I should have known_  
_That it wouldn't be long_  
_Until you, you've got me standing in an awkward position_  
_With unwanted attention and a need for explanation_  
_And it's not that I'm letting go of you_  
_But I don't know what to do..._

_Skeleton we are so close_  
_But you have got no body_  
_So why do you insist on wearing clothes~_  
_Skeleton when we were young_  
_It was easy_  
_Even though the other kids_  
_They would tease me_  
_But I was only seven I had you_  
_But now I'm twenty-two..._

And now it's different, when I take you out  
And you, you've got me standing in an awkward position  
With unwanted attention and a need for explanation  
And it's not that I'm letting go of you  
But I don't know what to do...

_'Cause sometimes at~ night,_  
_I dream~ of the most terrible things_  
_I take a hammer and I creep out of bed_  
_And I raise it high_  
_And I sma~sh your he~ad_  
_Fibula and tibula!_  
_And ribs and cages, too!_  
_In fact, while I'm here_  
_I'll smash the whole of you_  
_Smaaa~aaa~aaa~aash !_

_But Skeleton, you are my friend..._  
_And I could never bring your life to an end..._  
_Yes Skeleton you are, you are my friend~..._  
_And I will be there for you until the end..._

_And even though, when I take you out_  
_You've got me, you've got me standing in an awkward position_  
_With unwanted attention and a need for explanation_  
_I could, I could never let you go_  
_And that is all I know_  
_And that is all I know_  
_And that is all I, that is all I know_  
_And that is all I know, know_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i need a drink and some spaghetti. (oh wait that was my dinner. :3)
> 
> Please leave comments, feedback, or whatever else. It make me happy ;)
> 
> Until next time!


	7. Cup Song

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> next part of your anime-spaghetti night!!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm posting this too all of my stories but I apologize for the lack of updates I will not go into detail but it has been busy as of late around my house and on top of that I injured myself and was unable to write do to the injury (nothing serious don't worry) and I put off posting chapters just to just update them all at once as an UNBIRTHDAY GIFT to my Readers for all their support and love and patience. :) <3
> 
> Thank you guys for all of your 225+ kudos, 50 bookmarks, and 2600+ hits!!
> 
> Here's PART 3 of your GIFT!!! ENJOY!

And you walk up to the door, seeing no one else taking off their shoes you just walk right in, once you pass Sans you turn around to look at the place. Of course when you turn he isn’t at the door anymore and it’s closed. (MAGIC, calling it Magic; it’s just going to be fudging MAGIC, ok?!)

You also should probably be more concerned than you are about the yelling-- “Smash the tomatoes like they--HUMAN THE HEAT MUST BE ALL THE WAY--Pap the noodles!--OH NO!!” and sounds of clanging pots and food in the kitchen, but you’re too busy looking around the house. How long ago was it that you spent time at a (dare you say it) friend’s house? Months? Years?...Time passed by quickly--but back to the house!

The living room consists of the large green couch-- where Sans seems to have taken up sitting in, slouched into the cushions-- a big flat-screen TV on a wooden stand with several drawers--where Alphys was setting up the anime you guys were going to be watching--a small couch side table with a lamp and a...rock(?) with a red book next to the rock, a window behind the couch with curtains, and the floor was blue carpet. There was also a bookshelves on either side of the TV against the wall, with books and movies and such. The far left side of the room had a wooden staircase that led upstairs.

You felt eyes on you as you looked around the house, but chose to ignore it. The room to the right was a dining room with a big wooden table and about 10 chairs with another cabinet for plates and things and just further in from the doorway was the kitchen, but unlike the other rooms it had a dark brown and deep orange checkered tiled floor and deep wooden cabinets and white counter-tops--Undyne, Papyrus, and Frisk were busy cooking in front of the stove. Frisk was obviously on top of a stool.

“penne for your thoughts?” Sans broke the silence and you turned your attention to him. “Oh sorry. I was--it’s just--” you sputtered and Sans ever present grin seemed to grow and you blushed and looked away. Not sure what to say. Fudge it! Just-just be truthful...he could understand right?...

“It’s...it’s been a long time since I was invited over to a friend’s house, ok?...” you mumbled, embarrassed, shuffling awkwardly in place.

You were met with silence, but you refused to look back at him. “HUMAN - - - - -! YOUR ASSISTANCE WOULD BE APPRECIATED IN THE KITCHEN! THE TINY HUMAN FRISK WISHES FOR YOU TO HELP US WITH THE REST OF THE COOKING!!” Papyrus yells, as he pokes his head out of the kitchen and Frisk’s head pops out under his and nods. “YEAH GET IN HERE NERD!” Undyne shouts, also poking her head out over Papyrus’s.

You hurry into the kitchen without a backwards glance at Sans or Alphys, who was too busy muttering to herself about what anime to watch.

Cooking with Undyne and Papyrus was...interesting to say the least. They were very passionate about cooking. They made mostly everything from scratch, sauce, which Frisk and Undyne had him NOT put glitter in (who put glitter in spaghetti?). You and Frisk also adjusted the heat so the pot wouldn’t boil over. And thankfully, due to...past experiences...you learned to dodge hot noodles and sauce that flew at you, the other three seemed impressed.

“Punk, you and me have got to spar!” Undyne enthusiastically said, clamping an arm around your shoulders. Frisk looked worried but Papyrus was all for it. “YES HUMAN! YOU MUST COME TO TRAIN SOMETIME!” 

“Uh...” you said, while Frisk just shrugged. “...ok?” you said, not entirely sure. “Sweet! How about tomorrow? You can come over to my and Alphys’s place!” she asked, stirring the sauce.

“Oh I can’t tomorrow I promised Gerson I’d hang out with him tomorrow...” you said and she slowly turned to scrutinize you with her one golden eye. “Oh yeah. Hey Pap take over the sauce for a moment ok?” she then proceeds to drag you towards the dining room out of earshot of Papyrus and Frisk...you think.

She brings you close to her with and arm and it’s almost too tight for you. “So...you know, gerson’s like a father to me as much as Asgore is, they both trained me you know? So I’m going to say this once: hurt Gerson again and you WILL feel my spear. Same goes for Papyrus and everyone else, got it? Cuz you and me we’re going to be real close.” she presses your face against hers and you feel how cool her scales and her fin are. 

Unlike, her brash and loud attitude she’s being quiet and you know she’s very serious and that makes it much more intimidating that she was. You do your best not to show you were affected by her words though. “I understand.” you answer. “Fuhuhu. Good.” She lets go of you and slaps your shoulder, causing you to jerk forward and then she goes back to making spaghetti with the others.

Frisk comes up to you after Undyne leaves. [Are you ok?] they sign. You nod. [I’m ok.] you sign back. They sign, [The spaghetti is done.] They then take your hand and lead you back to the living room with Alphys and Sans, Sans has gone to sleep on the couch and was lightly snoring and Alphys looked like she was done setting up.

Frisk walked up to Alphys and tapped her shoulder. [What are we watching tonight?] You sat down by the two of them, but far enough away for Alphys to be more comfortable as she went on a long rant about the anime you guys were going to watch. She was speaking really fast and not stuttering, but she interrupted herself a lot, going on tangents about specific characters, but you tried to keep up.

You were still mulling over Undyne’s words, you adjusted your glasses in worry and felt along your back---wait...Your jaws drops open and your sunglasses slip down your face a little. Holy shiznits you forgot your guitar at Gerson’s shop!!!! You pulled out your phone to check the time, but you knew he wouldn’t be there now. Hopefully it’s be safe in the shop when you went to get it tomorrow.

“U-uh, - - - - -? I-is something w-wrong?” Alphys nervously asked you. She fidgeted her hands nervously, looking from the carpet up to you. You snapped out of it, shaking your hands and head. “Oh no! It’s just...I left my guitar at Gerson’s shop.” you sighed.

“What’s this about a guitar?” Undyne asked, as she and Papyrus came out with plates of spaghetti for everyone. The plates somehow balanced in their arms and a-top their heads. “GASP! FRIEND YOU LEFT YOUR INSTRUMENT AT GERSON’S SHOP?!” Papyrus said after handing you your plate of spaghetti. You nodded. “It’s ok though. I can just get it tomorrow.” you say, but you were panicking on the inside still.

Frisk put a hand on your shoulder and you smiled lightly at them. 

“OK enough with this! Let’s watch some anime!!” Undyne shouts and alphys, Papyrus, and Frisk cheer. Sans snores only seem to continue as if nothing was going on and it was slightly impressive that he could sleep through all of this noise.

You all got up and moved back to the couch to watch, Papyrus made you all but take a spot between him and Sans on the couch, Papyrus had simply left his spaghetti on the small table next to Sans and sprinkled sprinkles on top of the rock, which was actually their pet rock “Rockie”. Frisk climbed into Sans’s lap and Undyne had Alphys in her’s on the far side of the couch next to Papyrus.

The spaghetti was pretty decent despite the cooking method, but you felt like you needed a drink to wash it down. The anime was pretty interesting too and all of you, save Sans got caught up in it, laughing at certain parts, yelling in outrage at the antagonists, cheering when the protagonist kicked their butts. You hadn’t noticed you’d finished your food until several episodes later.

“Who wants seconds?!” Undyne asked and she also took the plates of Frisk and Alphys, because they were full. You held up your hand over your last mouthful of your spaghetti. “I like you punk.” Undyne grinned at you, but as you tried to get up to get seconds, Papyrus just took your plate. “ALLOW ME HUMAN!” and he and Undyne ran back into the kitchen.

After swallowing you followed after them. “What’s up?” Undyne asked when she saw you come in. Papyrus turned back to you as well and asked, “WHAT-What’s Wrong Human?”. You fidgeted awkwardly. “Um, I was wondering if I could have some water?” You said nervously. Undyne laughed. Papyrus just smiled at you and handed you your plate and a thick clear plastic cup of water. “No Need To Be Shy Human. If You Need Something, Ask Us.” He said.

You smiled up at him. “Thanks Papyrus. You’re a great friend.” and you left the kitchen before you could see his expression. 

You watch more anime and finish your spaghetti and water, and eventually Papyrus takes your plate, but you keep the cup. As the night goes one, Undyne brings out the snack she and Alphys brought:cookies, chips, Pocky, bread, and various candies.  
“Nobody tell Toriel we let Frisk have sugar, got it?” she said and everyone nodded. You guys all devoured the snacks, but some of it seem to disappear randomly and your eyes fell on the STILL sleeping form of Sans.

As the night continued, you were loosening up for once and having fun, but you still kept your glasses on. You’d gotten bored (somehow) of the anime and you guys opted for playing games, cards: speed, deuces, old maid, board games: Sorry!, Shoots and Ladders, actual puzzles: of various sizes...You got booted out of one of the bigger puzzles that everyone was working on, on the floor.

Sans was still asleep, and nobody had tried to wake him and you didn’t know what else to do...until you spotted your cup, which you’d placed on the table next to Sans and went to take it into the kitchen. You almost tripped over something and the cup clattered and rolled onto the counter.

You scan around the dark kitchen, but don’t find anything that might’ve tripped you and then went to pick up the cup, setting it down on the counter rim down. It made a nice sound against the counter. !!! You had a sudden idea.

You clap-out twice then proceed to the Cup Dance, repeating the dance several times before singing:

_I've got my ticket for the long way 'round_  
_Two bottle of whiskey for the way_  
_And I sure would like some sweet company_  
_And I'm leaving tomorrow. What d'you say?_

_When I'm gone, when I'm go~ne~_  
_You're gonna miss me when I'm go~ne_  
_You're gonna miss me by my hair_  
_You're gonna miss me everywhere, oh_  
_You're gonna miss me when I'm gone_

_When I'm gone, when I'm go~ne~_  
_You're gonna miss me when I'm go~ne_  
_You're gonna miss me by my walk_  
_You're gonna miss me by my talk, oh_  
_You're gonna miss me when I'm gone_

The lights immediately come on and you jump and the cup clatters to the floor and you turn towards the opening and find Papyrus, Frisk, Undyne, Alphys, and Sans all looking at you.

“Uh--” “WOWIE HUMAN!!!--NICE PUNK!--th-that w-was amazing!!” Frisk was clapping loudly as Undyne, Papyrus and Alphys complimented you. Sans even chuckled a bit. You were really embarrassed though. You just had to be weird, doing the Cup Dance and Song in a kitchen in the dark of your new friends’ house. Your face felt hot.

“What was that?” Undyne asked. 

“That?” you repeated. 

“THE STRANGE THING YOU WERE DOING TO YOUR CUP!!” Papyrus said. 

“The Cup Dance?” you asked. All of them looked at you funny. “Uh...it’s just an internet thing? Like a game you play with friends? There’s a lot of tutorials online and stuff --There’s also this sport called ‘cup stacking’--”

Frisk picked up the cup and came up to you and signed [Can you teach me?] they looked really eager, over the cup. “Uh...sure...?” you squeaked out. They cheered and scrambled to find a cup like yours in the cabinet and tugged you towards the dining room. You heard clattering from the kitchen and Papyrus, Undyne, and Alphys followed you to the dining table with cups of their own.

“Uh, guys? Maybe you should use plastic cups?” You say, looking at Undyne’s glass cup and Papyrus’s orange mug. Alphys had gotten a small plastics red cup. 

“Why?” they both asked. 

“‘Cuz you might break the cups?...” you provided nervously. Undyne grumbled but complied and Papyrus simply said, “OH.” and went to change his cup. They came back with larger plastics cups in blue and green. (When did Frisk get this weird cup with flowers all over it?)

“Ok show us how this works, nerd.” Undyne said and you began teaching them the steps of how to move the cup. They followed pretty well, but Undyne and Papyrus kept slamming the cup down on the table hard enough for it to shake and creak. It was particularly bad when they made a contest out of who’d win. Sans just stood by the wall and watched you from behind Papyrus, Alphys, and Undyne. 

It took some time, but they eventually got it. “S-so wh-what w-was the song?” alphys asked. “Oh that’s just part of the game.” you said as Frisk went through the routine several times in succession, technically they won the contest as they got it down first. 

“WHAT GAME?!” both Papyrus and Undyne screeched at you. 

“Uh... well...you go around playing the cup dance and each time end by giving your cup to the person next to you...sometimes you sing the song or you can just do the dance--” 

“LET’S DO IT!!” they cheered, Frisk agreeing by nodding vigorously.

Without further ado, you all begin the game, without the singing on your part until you all had a steady rhythm going. Then you start singing...

_I've got my ticket for the long way 'round_  
_Two bottle of whiskey for the way_  
_And I sure would like some sweet company_  
_And I'm leaving tomorrow. What d'you say?_

_When I'm gone, when I'm go~ne~_  
_You're gonna miss me when I'm go~ne_  
_You're gonna miss me by my hair_  
_You're gonna miss me everywhere, oh_  
_You're gonna miss me when I'm gone_

_When I'm gone, when I'm go~ne~_  
_You're gonna miss me when I'm go~ne_  
_You're gonna miss me by my walk_  
_You're gonna miss me by my talk, oh_  
_You're gonna miss me when I'm gone_

You were so engrossed in the song you didn’t notice you were the only one still playing as the others had stopped to watch you...

_I've got my ticket for the long way 'round_  
_The one with the prettiest of views_  
_It's got mountains, it's got rivers_  
_It's got sights to give you shivers_  
_But it sure would be prettier with you_

...or that Alphys was video-taping you... 

_When I'm gone, when I'm go~ne~_  
_You're gonna miss me when I'm go~ne_  
_You're gonna miss me by my hair_  
_You're gonna miss me everywhere, oh_  
_You're gonna miss me when I'm gone_

...or that Papyrus was staring at you a small orange flush on his cheekbones...

_When I'm gone, when I'm go~ne~_  
_You're gonna miss me when I'm go~ne_  
_You're gonna miss me by my walk_  
_You're gonna miss me by my talk, oh_  
_You're sure gonna miss me when I'm gone_

...or when Undyne had noticed Papyrus blushing and nudged Alphys about it...

_When I'm gone, when I'm go~ne~_  
_You're gonna miss me when I'm go~ne_  
_You're gonna miss me by my hair_  
_You're gonna miss me everywhere, oh_  
_You're gonna miss me when I'm gone..._

...or that Frisk had noticed Sans, peering over at you from the couch...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i like fluff don't you? well you get more and maybe some angst next time!!
> 
> Leave me comments and feedback please!
> 
> I was planning on giving you both this (part 3) and part 4 (Bare Bones), but i'm still working on Bare Bones so have a bit more patience with me ＜(。_。)＞ orz T.T and i might (read: WILL) reward you with a part 5 (ﾉ^∇^)ﾉﾟ


	8. It's Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> a date with an old turtle

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'M REALLY SORRY FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO WANTED AN UPDATE FOR THIS STORY SINCE FOREVER AGO ( 6 MONTHS AGO)  
> Happy New Year, Belated Valentines Day, President's Day...(did i miss any?)  
> -I got all these ideas for the other fics and then work and now more work and i put this on back burner, until now but here it IS!!!  
> \- the author (as you know) is a spazzy man-child who like to leave you hanging off a cliff and updates more sporadically than the weather men and women on TV!!!  
> -just so you know the updates for ALL my current fics are nearly finished and i will most likely post them all one by one in the coming week, so look forward to those.
> 
> ENJOY~~

You woke up mildly uncomfortable, because there were several hard somethings tangled around you. Your sunglasses are no longer on your face, your mouth tastes disgusting, and there’s snoring happening around you. You turn your head and find Papyrus, snoring soft “nyeh’s”, and his legs are tangled with yours. Turning your head, you find Sans using your shoulder and an arm as a pillow. Frisk is using Sans’s stomach? (MAGIC.) as a pillow and Undyne and Alphys are curled up on the couch together.

You find someone put your sunglasses on the TV stand as well as your phone, when you look around the room. What time was it? You manage to shift your legs around without waking Papyrus and slip out from under Sans, but you do hear them grumble and snort before they both settle down, clinging to each other. It’s actually pretty cute. You tip-toe your way to your phone and glasses and slip them on and snap a photo of your sleeping friends...”friends”...You smile.

Then you check the time and realize you’ve slept in!! You had to go out with Gerson today!! As quickly and quietly as you could you stepped around your sleeping friends to the kitchen. Your mouth tasted gross and your hair was messy. You washed your face and mouth in the sink and raked your fingers through your hair to unknot it. When you walked back into the room, everyone still seemed asleep, then Sans popped a socket open.

You stood frozen, the two of you staring at each other, but you had the feeling he was staring right through you. You swallow down the feeling though and raise your hand to your lips in a shushing gesture, before taking out your phone and typing a message down onto it. “Going to Gerson’s. We have lunch plans. Thanks for having me.” and walking over, carefully, to crouch down and show him. He reads it and then just looks back to you, you give him a smile and get up. You feel his eyes on you as you get to the door and get your shoes, slipping them on.

You open the door as quietly as you can and slip out giving Sans a wave, but he’s already closed his sockets again. You let out a quiet scoff and then close the door, looking around just in case and then taking off at a run, only to almost run into somebody. You twist around them to avoid collision, but whoever it was caught your wrist and stops you just behind them. You turn back and it’s Sans, the two of you looking at each other wide-eyed.

“Sans? What are you doing here?” you question. 

Then you realize something, “Holy spit you can teleport...” you says breathlessly, mouth opening in surprise.

“uhh....yeah, sure.” he says, somewhat embarrassed, skull turning a bit blue (which is really cute but you don’t want to tell him that out loud) and he scratches his cheekbone with his free hand. 

“That’s so cool.” you say equally as breathless, before calming down. You cough. “Anyway, what’s up? Did I forget something?” you ask. 

“nah, just thought i’d take ya on a shortcut to gerson’s if yer up for it.” 

You stared at him and the blue on his face seemed to intensify and spread, he even started sweating blue drops. He rubbed the back of his neck, shyly, “ya know...since yer late and all...” He shuffled awkwardly. 

You felt a bit embarrassed as well and felt your face heat up a little. Then you realize you haven’t answered him at all. “Oh. Oh sure! What kind of shortcut?” you ask, trying to dissolve the uncomfortable atmosphere around the two of you. 

He smiles a bit wider and hold out a hand. “close your eyes and take my hand, pal.”

You look to his hand and then back up to his face incredulously, but you do as he asks, fully trusting him. He pulls you a couple of steps and then he then he says, “open your eyes now.” You’re in front of Gerson’s shop. You look from Gerson’s shop to Sans, back and forth, trying to process that---OMG you’ve just teleported!. Holy freaking fudge sickles!! You’re internally freaking out, nearly trembling with excitement. 

“Uh--bud? Ya ok?” Sans hesitantly asks, but you surprise him by grabbing him and pulling him into you. He’s actually a couple inches shorter than you are, so you easily smoosh your cheek at the top of his skull and nuzzle him there, caging him in your hold, squeezing him in your excitement. 

You’re gushing, “Holy fudging shiz on sticks! My God that is cool Sans! You’re amazing! I can’t believe we’re here! I’m actually on time--holy crap balls i just teleported!!---” ON and on you feel the bone beneath your cheek heat up and Sans struggling, so you let go. 

“Omg Sans! Are you ok? I’m so sorry about th--”He’s breathing deeply, stumbling a bit, his entire skull blue and sweaty, even his hands seemed stained blue. You had a full blush on your cheeks, but you still steady him before he can keel over. 

“Falling for me already Sans?” you joke, a bit guilty about nearly (somehow) almost suffocating him. He huffs still and holds up a phalange in a “gimme a minute” gesture.

You patiently wait as he get’s himself back together. How did he even need to breathe? He didn’t have lungs. “guess you just take my breath away.” He looks smug as he winks at you, a small dusting of blue on his cheekbones. 

Did you say that out loud? “yup.” he pops the “p” again how? “magic.” Right that was the answer to everything at this point. “mhmm.” You realize you’re still voicing your thoughts outloud and see he’s lazily grinning at you, his sockets somehow crinkled in amusement.

“You ok now?” you ask, trying to play off your embarrassment even though you feel your cheeks heating up.. 

“heh. don’t worry ‘bout me, kiddo. ‘sides aren’t ya late?” he says, just as the door to the shop opens. 

“Ah! Good Afternoon - - - - -, Sans.” Gerson’s suspiciously amused voice says. You side-glance him and his eyes are also crinkled in amusement and some wizened knowing look was on his face. He seemed to sense your gaze and his smile grows wider, turning mischievous.

“Wahahaha!” He laughs at your expression, before turning to Sans. “If you’ll excuse me, my boy, as much as I enjoy watching the two of you flirt--” He looks back to you then back to Sans, “-- I’d like to take - - - - - to lunch. She’ll be my date this afternoon, you can take her on one later tonight, if you wish Sans.” He chuckles gleefully at both of your embarrassed expressions.

Sans turns blue and hides in his hood, drawing the strings and you duck your head and let your hair cover your burning cheeks. “I-it’s not like that Gerson, we’re just friends.” You argue, as Sans has not returned from Hoodie-ville.

You huffed at him, as Sans had let go of the drawstrings of his hoodie, his cheekbones still a bit blue. “welp. see ya around guys. got munch to do.” he said hastily before disappearing in a blue flash. You stare at the spot where he once was, pouting at having to deal with Gerson’s teasing for possibly the rest of the afternoon.

Gerson’s smile turned more apologetic as he looked at your, “I’m not amused” face. You crossed your arms over your chest, and quirked a brow at him, as if daring him to continue. 

“My apologies, this old turtle got a bit carried away with his fun. It’s not everyday I get to tease the young ones.” he admitted, a somewhat sad look in his eyes as he looked almost wistfully at the sky, as if in deep thought. Then he returns his attention back to you, “Not many give me the time of day, as i’m as they say, ‘that crazy old turtle’.”

You softened a bit at his words, but you thought it made sense, not many if anyone came to the shop, except the occasional human or monster looking for something, most of them lured in by the music you played. It seemed...lonely, Gerson was lonely. 

Welp, not today, not if that was up to you!!

You grabbed him by one scaly claw, and slung the strap of your guitar case, which had been over his shoulder and part of his shell, onto your unoccupied shoulder. You tugged him when he didn’t budge. “Come on old man, I thought we had a date?” You teased him, giving him a devilish smile, and even slipping your glasses down to give him a wink.

He looked stunned and then his eyes crinkled up further and he laughed. You smiled wide in response. You re-adjusted your glasses. Gerson returns your grip on his claw, before letting go. “Alright then - - - - -, come with me I know a nice bakery we can go to.” He starts walking down the street and you follow.

The two of you walk in relative silence, pointedly ignoring the looks you get from some passing monsters and a few humans. You kept your eyes mostly on the carapace of Gerson’s shell, but you did scope out the layout of the shops and some businesses, even an inn along the way.

Finally you found yourself standing in front of cute purple bakery. The sign read: Little Miss Muffet’s. Cute, just like that nursery rhyme! Gerson held the door open for you and you stepped inside. The place was just as cute on the inside, with a recurring spider theme. There were spiders on the black-webbed purple walls, black and purple tiles on the floor, web-like lace tablecloths on the circular tables with iron chairs, curled and twisted into elegant swirled patterns. There were dark crystal chandeliers, which hung spiders from them on nearly invisible threads, shelves and shelves of pastries and cakes behind a cute cash register on an odd wooden table, where on either side stood two glass displays, lined with donuts and croissants and other kinds of confections.

You took all of this in, smiling wide. “Wow the owner must really like that nursery rhyme.” you say off-handedly. “Ahuhuhu~ Of course, it was named after one of my ancestors long ago.” A voice said, coming out of a back curtain of black crystal and spiders. You face the counter and behind it is a six armed spider monster.

She wears maroon bows in her pigtails, a white lace, puffy purple dress with a maroon cape, her skin is a fuzzy light purple, and her five shining black eyes twinkle at you. She’s several inches shorter than you are but not quite as short as Sans or Alphys. “Oh.” You say in awe. Her eyes seem to dig into yours. “R-Really?” you recover a bit after blinking.

She nods, her fanged smile growing ever-wider, more predatory. “Why of course dearie!” She comes out from behind the counter to walk towards you, her black boot heels clicking against the tiles. The sounds seems to get louder and there’s a quick tug at your chest and your vision starts to darken to an almost monochrome and you don’t understand what’s happening. “Welcome to my bakery. I am Muffet.”You can’t look away and you can’t move. 

_“Muffet.”_ Gerson’s voice cuts in. His tone has this bite to it you’ve never heard before. He puts an arm around you, protectively, and gives you a reassuring squeeze, you’d almost forgot he was there with you. There’s a heavy prickling feeling of static in the air.

“- - - - - is my date for this afternoon, if you cannot show them respect we shall take our business elsewhere.” His voice held no arguments, you don’t think you’ve ever heard Gerson raise his voice to anyone, as he’s always seem to be an easy-going monster, but his demeanor now was commanding.

Muffet bows low, “My apologies, General. I meant no disrespect only curiosity.” she says.

“Hmmm, if that were your intention, Courier. I wouldn’t have had to intervene” He counters. You look between the two. There’s something going on that you’re not quite following here. “General”? “Courier”?

Your stomach growling made a perfect distraction and you covered your stomach with both hands and ducked your head, feeling your face heat up with embarrassment. You could feel their twin stares at you, and then Muffet started giggling, then Gerson started chuckling and even you let out a snort. This situation was a bit ridiculous.

“Table for two, right this way.” Muffet says. You look up and see her smile is a lot more friendly but there still a bit of an edge to it, maybe it was the fangs...She waved you to a table by the front window. Gerson steered you into one of the chairs and you sat down, leaning your guitar next to you, slightly against the window and your chair. Muffet whipped out two menus, pen and notepads, and two teacups and saucers with her many hands. She placed them in front of you and then left you to your own.

You finally breathe. You suddenly feel like you could move again. “Are you alright, - - - - -?” Gerson asks concerned. You look up at him through your glasses and find them blurry, so you take them off to rub your eyes, before putting them back on.

“S-sorry. I’m just a bit startled really. And I’m starving.” you say, but internally you’re shaken. He frowns and he opens his mouth to ask, but closes it. You’re grateful he doesn’t ask...at least not yet. You look down at the menu to distract yourself from the memory of a cold look of crazed eyes. “So what’s good here?” you ask with slightly forced enthusiasm, internally wincing, that didn’t sound as reassuring as you’d hoped it would.

“We can go somewhere else if you’re uncomfortable---” You shake your head. “I’m fine. Really. I’ll get over it! Whatever just happened, I’m sure she has a reason and I’d rather not judge! I mean look at this place!” You wave your hands around to gesture at everything. “It’s amazing! She probably worked really hard to get this place, had to fight tooth and nail with maybe some big-headed jerk-face of a human too. I don’t know, but...I’m still here right?...”

Gerson seems stunned at your rant, and you wilt getting over-excited and emotional sometimes spurred you into clamming up or word-vomiting. You really hope Muffet didn’t hear you...You back up from the still unopened menu to Gerson. “I mean, she hasn’t kicked me out or anything...and I understand if she will, I get that my kind aren’t the best, sometimes we’re the absolute WORST and--”

You feel pairs of soft, thin arms wrap around you, loosely but firmly, from behind and you immediately stiffen up. Something presses against the top of your head and you watch as Gerson eyes them, critically. Familiar purple arms pour tea and place cakes down, while several black spiders take away the menus.

“You are a sweet human, dearie.” Muffet’s voice comes from the top of your head. “I can see why old man Gerson is so fond of you.” You feel two small hands tilt your face back up to Muffet’s face. Her black eyes are no longer cold, but there’s a weariness and apologetic look to them as well as curiosity. 

“You are one of the very few humans who have walked into my shop and not screamed or tried to kill my spiders. And you are the first human I’ve seen with such intriguing eyes.” Before you can stop her she whips off your glasses and you hurriedly shut them closed out of reflex. 

**“Muffet.”** Gerson’s voice rings out, a dangerous warning. You chance sneaking a glance and Gerson’s eyes seem so much sharper than normal. His face almost angry. **“Stop this behavior at once with my child.” he scolds.**

“My child”....?

Muffet tilts your face back towards her, but you’re still reeling from Gerson’s statement. “They are quite fascinating though Gerson, I wonder~” She pecks your forehead, “Such a shame, they’re a lovely purple, green, and gold.” 

She steps back, releasing your face, but you only stare at Gerson, tears almost springing to your eyes again. An old ache in your chest twinges and then settles, and old hope you thought long burned away, rekindled. And yet there’s the sense of loneliness and sadness that came with those words. “My child” the phrase repeated in your head.

You don’t notice Gerson’s warning glare go from over your shoulder at Muffet to back to you for a second, his gaze soft and an understanding is made between the two of you, or had it always been there? You gave him a watery smile, smiling wide even though a few tears slipped down your cheeks. 

Gerson gets up and moves himself and his chair over to you, wrapping a hand around your shoulder again. The two of you sit in comfortable silence, that you don’t notice that spiders have poured you tea and brought you cakes and even a small bottle of...soda? You’re still halfway in a daze as the two of you eat, you’re not really tasting the food.

You can feel Gerson’s gaze flicker to you every so often, as if he was waiting. 

“My eyes have always been a sensitive subject. Ever since I was young.” you began and you felt Gerson stop eating and start to quietly listen. “I’ve always worn dark glasses to hide them, but almost every day somebody would come up to me at school and snatch them away, pointing and screaming how freaky they were, like I was some side-show freak.” You said the last part bitterly.

“My parents took me out of school because I couldn’t take all of the bullying, the looks people would give me...They homeschooled me instead or let me take online classes. I wanted to learn everything, but I loved music most of all. That was until I got to high school level. I was rebellious and snuck out of the house to explore and go into the city. I got sneaky. I did this for years, making odd friends with the strangest people in town, but then...”

You were giving him the short version, not wanting the memories to come back to bite you, you were tired of crying by that point. “...They died, my parents. Car crash. Some drunk truck driver on a stormy night just hit them and they and their car fell off a cliff...That was years ago. I was in a bad place then, but I got out of it. And then you guys came.”

You finally looked to Gerson then, calmly listening to your story, not questioning. There was a sadness and grim understanding in his gaze and he pulled you against his shoulder a bit tighter. “And here you are.” he comments. And you reply, “And here I am.” 

“So do you live alone, - - - - -?” he asks. You nod, “I do. My parents left me everything.I didn’t want to sell my house, not with all of my memories still in it, along with all my instruments. I had to fight hard to keep it from my distant relatives.” You frowned at the mention of your relatives. 

Gerson hums. “You are a unique soul, - - - - -.” Something resonates with you at his words. You hear faint clicks behind you and see some of the spiders roving around your guitar case, curiously. Several more hang down from the ceiling holding small signs for you. They read: “Will you play?” or “Can you play?” or “Please play something!” They had halfway decent handwriting too. You weren’t sure about playing though and you looked back to Gerson--who was giving you that smile again... And a whole bunch of spiders were doing their best to look cute near your plate.

You sigh and say, “Only if Miss Muffet allows me--” “Of course you’re allowed to dearie.” comes her response from behind the counter, where she’s leaning against it with her chin in two of her hands and the others holding a nice teapot and cup and saucer. Her black eyes glisten with anticipation...was that a sparkle? 

You turn back to Gerson, who seemed to have been glaring at her, but he gives you an encouraging smile. Some of the spider bring your case to you while other prepare the floor, by moving tables and chairs, leaving only one for you. You move as if on autopilot, pulling out your guitar and tuning it, strumming it a few times.

But what to play? You plucked at the strings and tapped your foot. What did you feel like playing? A song popped into your head and you stomped your feet and patted the body of your guitar in a rhythm before plucking the strings in the beginning chords, keeping your feet to the beat. Then you began to sing while you strummed the beat out.

 _So this is what you meant_  
_When you said that you were spent_  
_And now it's time to build from the bottom of the pit, right to the top_  
_Don't hold back._  
_Packing my bags and giving the Academy a rain check_  
_I don't ever want to let you down!_  
_I don't ever want to leave this town~_  
_Cause after all_  
_This city never sleeps at night_

You spared some glances around the bakery, spiders clumped together on tables and the floor and in the chandeliers and hung from the ceiling, swaying a bit to the beat. Gerson even took to tapping out the rhythm you stomped to with his claws on the table.  
_It's time to begin, isn't it?_  
_I get a little bit bigger but then I'll admit_  
_I'm just the same as I was..._  
_Now don't you understand?_  
_I'm never changing who I am_

Muffet seemed surprised so many of her spiders came to watch and looked around at them before, settling on the counter. And just behind her you saw several spiders peak out from the back door as well as a large...Muffin-Spider?

 _So this is where you fell_  
_And I am left to sell_  
_The path to heaven runs through miles of clouded hell, right to the top_  
_Don't look back._  
_Turning to rags and giving the commodities a rain check_  
_I don't ever want to let you down!_  
_I don't ever want to leave this town~_  
_Cause after all_  
_This city never sleeps at night_

Muffet looks behind her at your gaze and she waves her friends out and then ALL come out into the store, joining their friends on shlves and the counter. The large Muffin-Spider settles beside Muffet and she give it a few pets. Despite the way it looks, it’s somehow cute. You and Muffet share a smile as you continue back to the chorus.

 _It's time to begin, isn't it?_  
_I get a little bit bigger but then I'll admit_  
_I'm just the same as I was~_  
_Now don't you understand_  
_I'm never changing who I am_

 _It's time to begin, isn't it?_  
_I get a little bit bigger but then I'll admit_  
_I'm just the same as I wa~s~_  
_Now don't you understand_  
_I'm never changing who I am_

You lose yourself in the song and close your eyes to belt out the lyrics. You can feel the beat in your chest, the song pouring out of you in waves.

 _This road never looked so lonely_  
_This house doesn't burn down slowly_  
_To ashes._  
_To ashes!_

Your voice get's softer for the last part of the song, less energy but no less powerful. It's almost breathy with how much power you put behind your words this time around, but it felt **right** somehow...

It's time to begin, isn't it?  
_I get a little bit bigger but then I'll admit_  
_I'm just the same as I was~_  
_Now don't you understand_  
_I'm never changing who I am_

 _It's time to begin, isn't it?_  
_I get a little bit bigger but then I'll admit_  
_I'm just the same as I was..._  
_Now don't you understand_  
_I'm never changing who I am_

You played out the rest of the song on your guitar, entirely focusing on playing it without looking at any of them. Then you stomp and clap out the last few beats. You only open your eyes again when you hear clapping and the echoing sounds of many fangs clicking together. All of the spiders seem to swarm over you at once, some even landing on your guitar and shoulders and back, chattering in excitement and you find yourself both terrified and so happy at the same time. You start laughing, as you feel some of the larger ones come up to nuzzle your cheek and click their fangs at you, while some of the smaller ones swarm your lap and your guitar.

\- - - -

Gerson didn't expect a stirring in his soul as strong as it was when they played. He now understood what Muffet was concerned about, but he didn’t want to jump to conclusions, even if - - - - - _was_ what they’d been dreading to find once they got to the surface. He had been wrapped up into their performance, his soul beating in time with the rhythm of the music, just like the first time they played music in his shop, with all their soul, and by the looks of it all of the spiders, including Muffet, were just as wrapped up with them as he was.

He did, however, notice that during their song their eyes had slowly shifted color. From green, gold and purple to a deeper purple and blue, with purple around their pupils and blue to light blue further into their iris. He didn’t think it was possible. They really were a unique soul. It resonated and pulsed and if Gerson peaked he could've looked, but he didn't. He wasn't going to. He didn't need to. He nearly laughed at himself, he was almost repeating the mistakes he made all those years ago, but he was older now, wiser, he’s learned after all that time. He’s lived it. He wouldn’t let them come to harm, they were his child, like Undyne was...He smiled fondly at them. So oblivious.

They didn’t seem to notice that they haven’t gotten their glasses back. They don’t notice how Gerson and Muffet share a cautious look. Muffet seems to understand and give him a silent apology, as was the intent behind her gaze. He felt it. They both looked back to - - - - -, sitting in the middle of the bakery, surrounded by spiders, holding signs saying, “That was amazing!” or “Thank you.” or “Your voice is awesome!”

He doesn't want to ruin this moment for them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> back with the little bits of mystery and an overview of reader's past ( maybe sparknoted? summarized in the vaguest sense...kinda?)
> 
> *Shrug*
> 
> Leave me comments~ maybe suggestions~ i may use them!!!
> 
> Thank you i appreciate it.

**Author's Note:**

> yup this is going well and i love Sans's threatening troupe.
> 
> he always needs to e behind you doesn't he? >:3
> 
> welcome to this f***ing ride too. This will be less bumpy (maybe than the others)


End file.
